Republicans’ Israel bill would strip money from IRS ability to crack down on tax cheats

The proposed bill will also strip money from the IRS’s plan to create a free electronic filing system

House Republicans are proposing paying for an aid package to Israel by slashing money from the Internal Revenue Service from Democrats’ signature climate, taxation and health care law passed last year.

The proposal will come after Hamas engaged in a deadly attack on Israel on 7 October that left 1,400 people dead with another 230 taken hostage.

Congress hopes to pass an aid package to assist Israel. Republicans’ proposed aid package would provide $14.3m in assistance to Israel. But it would come at the expense of slashing money from the IRS that’s included in the Inflation Reduction Act, the climate and health care law that Democrats passed last Congress along party lines.

The law also allocates money to increase enforcement of tax law, which they argue will allow the Internal Revenue Service to ensure that the wealthiest earners pay their fair share.

The legislation would strip out money from the provisions in the law that sets aside $45,637,400,000 for enforcement specifically meant for the IRS to “to determine and collect owed taxes, to provide legal and litigation support, to conduct criminal investigations (including investigative technology), to provide digital asset monitoring and compliance activities, to enforce criminal statutes related to violations of internal revenue laws and other financial crimes” as well as purchase and hire motor vehicles to enforce such laws.

In addition, the proposed bill would remove money from the $25,326,400,000 meant to focus on taxpayer services and enforcement programs. Lastly, it would strip money meant to create a free electronic filing system. HuffPost first reported the provisions that would be stripped.

The Democratic National Committee immediately slammed the proposal.

“MAGA Mike’s first foray as speaker shows Americans where he stands: on the side of big corporations and the ultra-wealthy, at the expense of hardworking families and our allies around the world,” spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.

The House Rules Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday afternoon on the legislation known as Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act. The House hopes to have a vote on the legislation this week.

But the bill would face steep opposition in the US Senate, which Democrats control with a 51-seat majority.

President Joe Biden had initially requested a $105bn supplemental funding bill to support Israel, Ukraine and funding for the US-Mexico border. Mr Johnson told Fox News earlier this week that the House would pass an Israel aid bill without funding for Ukraine.