The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Public Law 117-169, enacted August 16, 2022, provides for $80 billion in funding over a ten year period to enhance Internal Revenue Service (IRS) resources and improve taxpayer compliance.  The funding is allocated as follows:

• $3.1 billion for taxpayer services;
• $45.6 billion for enforcement;
• $25.3 billion for operation support; and
• $4.75 billion for business systems modernization.

The last major reform effort for the IRS was pursuant to the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98), Public Law 105-206.  RRA 98 was preceded by a bipartisan National Commission on Restructuring the IRS, which held public hearings around the country, approximately nine months of congressional hearings, House and Senate committee reports, and a conference report.  RRA 98, then, has extensive legislative history which lays out the clear intent and expectations of Congress in its efforts to reform and restructure the IRS.  Not surprisingly, as a result of all this effort, RRA 98 passed the House with a 402 to 8 vote and the Senate with a 96 to 2 vote.

The Inflation Reduction Act, on the other hand, was a reconciliation bill and preceded by minimal formal legislative history.  To provide some record and public discussion, the Center for Taxpayer Rights is holding a series of 15 or so virtual “Tax Chats” with experts from the private, academic, nonprofit, and government sectors on various aspects of tax administration. 

All the Tax Chats! are free of charge but you must register in order to receive the link and notifications of future Tax Chats! in the series. 

The inaugural Chat of this series will be held on Thursday, March 23 at noon (EDT) with Charles Rossotti, IRS Commissioner during and immediately after the enactment of RRA 98. For a recent article by Charles and other former Commissioners about starting steps to transform tax administration, see here.  You can register for this Tax Chat!  below.

To learn about future events in the Transformation series, subscribe to the Taxpayer Rights Digest here or keep checking back at this site.