The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
As ‘Tax Day’ approaches in April, millions of Americans are reminded of the powerful agency that holds sway over their hard-earned income—the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As law-abiding citizens, we pay our taxes with the expectation that they will fund essential services—infrastructure, law enforcement, and community development, to name a few. However, rarely do we consider that our money could be fueling the weaponization of government.
In President Biden’s final months in office, his administration embedded a special unit within IRS and authorized them to conduct burdensome and unlawful audits against business partnerships and their “basis-shifting” transactions. In other words, the Biden administration left behind more bureaucratic red tape for American businesses.
The IRS has no statutory authority to enforce these tedious reporting requirements and undertake partnership audits. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the largest manufacturing association in the United States, warned that the IRS is overstepping its authority: “The NAM has serious concerns that the forthcoming proposed regulations would exceed the authority of Treasury and the IRS and upset settled business expectations in transactions that present little or no opportunity for abuse.”
This rogue IRS unit unfairly targets taxpayers who have fully complied with U.S. tax laws, treating law-abiding businesses as potential tax cheats. It demands redundant disclosures on routine transactions that have already been reported, piling on unnecessary regulations while creating increased audit scrutiny against American business partnerships.
The action also wreaks of politics in the worst way. An IRS official openly admitted the new rules focus on businesses “trying to make basis great again.” It is deeply troubling that millions of Americans have been misled into believing the IRS has their best interests at heart when, in reality, it has been weaponized against American businesses and taxpayers.
On behalf of hard-working Wisconsinites who deserve better than to see their paychecks being siphoned by political antics, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson must immediately call on President Trump and his administration to eliminate this unlawful and abusive activity.
As Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senator Ron Johnson has a strong record of exposing unfair and unethical practices at the IRS. Recently, Senator Johnson called on President Trump to protect IRS whistleblowers who were illegally silenced and retaliated against by the Biden IRS. The pattern of political bias is unmistakable.
When President Trump took office in January, the American people gave him a clear mandate to end government waste and halt bureaucratic inefficiency. The President is already taking swift action, creating the Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate wasteful spending and ordering federal agencies like the IRS to cut ten needless regulations for every new one announced.
With this comprehensive work underway, now is the time to eliminate the regulatory red tape strangling business partnerships and dismantle the IRS’ needless enforcement unit.
Americans deserve better than an IRS that’s weaponized against them.
– Marian Krumberger formerly served as chair of the Brown County Republican Party in Green Bay.
