Worried About 87,000 New IRS Agents? Shouldn’t Be

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., & MIDLAND, Mich. – The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law by the President earlier in the week. Conservative headlines claim 87,000 new armed IRS agents are coming after the American middle class. Tax professionals are balking at these claims.

“With 87,000 new IRS agents, people may think agents won’t have anything else to do but start auditing everyone under the sun,” said Charles Frazier, a Middle Tennessee-based tax attorney. “Instead, the IRS is and has been short on manpower and they will lose about 52,000 high management employees due to retirement. This means only 30,000 net new employees are being added for the entire country.

It’s not just the sheer number of agents that creates an effective agency. Experienced and knowledgeable agents also help create a better functioning IRS.

“In addition, the employees retiring will take their experience and knowledge. The new ones will need at least three to five years of training to reach the same level. So, for at least the next five years, the IRS probably will not be able to do much more than maintain the level of service they are at now” said Rick Miller, a certified public accountant with Harvest, a tax-preparation and planning firm based in Midland, Michigan.

There have been multiple reports circulating about the new agents carrying firearms as part of their duties. “When talking about the IRS agents who are armed, only the CID (Criminal Investigation Division) agents carry weapons,” said Frazier. “For most tax criminals, if an agent comes up to their home, they probably won’t be open-armed. For the ones who are, just like with any other law- enforcement entity, those agents must have the ability to protect themselves.”

IRS system modernization is another major facet of the bill. “Many of the IRS’s systems used to process returns, and to process correspondence were created in the 1970s and 1980s,” said Miller. “To pay the lowest tax rates possible, we need a fair and equitable system that treats all taxpayers with professionalism and equity.”

About the Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier

The Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier provides legal counsel to individuals and businesses and focuses on tax law and estate planning with offices in Middle Tennessee, Dallas, Texas, and Midland, Michigan. The firm handles tax collections and tax audit matters before the IRS, as well as tax planning and compliance. The firm’s estate planning practice helps guide clients through the process of obtaining wills, living wills, powers of attorneys, and completing other estate planning matters. Since 2009, The Law Offices of Charles R. Frazier has saved its clients millions of dollars in taxes; given customers the peace of mind that comes with a thoughtful estate plan, and settled countless difficult probate estates.

About Harvest

Harvest is an affiliation of entities based in Brentwood, Tenn., with offices in Dallas, Texas, and Midland, Michigan, providing complex tax planning and preparation services for small and mid-sized businesses. The firm provides clients with customized tax, business succession, and retirement strategies to help business owners plan to Harvest the fruits of their life’s work.