FILE - Daniel Werfel testifies before the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearing to be the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, Feb. 15, 2023, in Washington. The IRS announced Friday, Sept. 8, that it is launching a new effort to aggressively pursue 1,600 millionaires and 75 large business partnerships that owe hundreds of millions of dollars in past due taxes.
“If you pay your taxes on time it should be particularly frustrating when you see that wealthy filers are not,” Werfel told reporters in a call previewing the announcement. He said 1,600 millionaires who owe at least $250,000 each in back taxes and 75 large business partnerships that have assets of roughly $10 billion on average are targeted for the new “compliance efforts.”
In July, IRS leadership said it collected $38 million in delinquent taxes from more than 175 high-income taxpayers in the span of a few months. Now, the agency will scale up that effort, Werfel said. Grover Norquist, who heads the conservative Americans for Tax Reform, said the IRS’ plan to pursue high wealth individuals does not preclude the IRS from eventually pursuing middle-income Americans for audits down the road.
“This action goes to the heart of Democrats’ effort to ensure the wealthiest are paying their fair share,” he said in a statement.