The IRS is cracking down on thousands of high-income Americans who haven’t filed their tax returns for several years– and have managed to dodge accountability until now.
The tax agency recently announced it would be sending 125,000 notices to thousands of people who make more than $400,000 annually and haven’t filed returns in at least one year since 2017.
Although the announcement didn’t clarify the exact amount of unpaid taxes, third-party information indicates financial activity of more than $100 billion.
“At this time of year when millions of hard-working people are doing the right thing paying their taxes, we cannot tolerate those with higher incomes failing to do a basic civic duty of filing a tax return,” IRS commissioner Danny Werfel said in the press release.
The IRS advised these individuals to speak to a trusted tax professional and file immediately, or risk facing higher penalties and stronger enforcement measures, like collection and audit action and even potential criminal prosecution.
The IRS, which has been severely underfunded and understaffed for a decade, says this new effort to catch wealthy tax cheats was made possible by the recent infusion in funding through the Inflation Reduction Act.
“This is one of the clearest examples of the need to have a properly funded IRS,” Werfel said.
With the Inflation Reduction Act resources, the agency finally has the funding to identify non-filers, ensure they meet this core civic responsibility, and ultimately help ensure fairness for everyone who plays by the rules.
