House Republicans Will Try to Rescind I.R.S. Funding

WASHINGTON — House Republicans, in one of their first legislative moves, will seek to cut funding for the Internal Revenue Service, as conservative lawmakers try to kneecap President Biden’s $80 billion overhaul of the beleaguered agency.

The measure, which could come to the House floor as early as Monday evening, does not have the votes to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, let alone receive approval from Mr. Biden.

But the legislation serves as an opening salvo from the new Republican majority, which is seeking to undercut the policy accomplishments of Democrats over the past two years, when they controlled both Congress and the White House.

The administration, in a statement of policy confirming that Mr. Biden would veto the measure, dismissed it as “a reckless bill” that demonstrated the new majority’s “top economic priority is to allow the rich and multibillion-dollar corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes they owe.”

The Republican focus on the I.R.S. comes after years of Republican complaints that the agency had unfairly targeted conservative groups and harangued small businesses and middle-class families.

“We are not stopping there,” Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, who clinched the chairmanship of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee on Monday, said of the bill. In a statement, he added that Daniel Werfel, Mr. Biden’s nominee to serve as the next I.R.S. commissioner, should “plan to spend a lot of time before our committee answering questions about the leaking of sensitive taxpayer information and an agency with a history of targeting conservative Americans.”

Shortly after winning his speaker position early Saturday, Kevin McCarthy of California reiterated his pledge to make defunding the I.R.S. the first bill of the Republican majority.

“The government should be here to help you, not go after you,” he said.

Democrats included an extra $80 billion for the I.R.S. in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, which passed over Republican opposition, saying it would help the agency crack down on tax evaders and ensure that the government was collecting the taxes it was owed. The money will be used to hire 87,000 new I.R.S. employees and modernize the agency’s antiquated technology systems. The investment is expected to generate $180 billion in revenue over 10 years.

Yet Republicans, who have spent months denouncing the federal budget deficit and calling for more fiscal responsibility, have dismissed any revenue gain and instead falsely accused the administration of trying to create a “shadow army” to shake down small businesses with assault rifles.

On Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the Republican bill to rescind I.R.S. funding would actually increase the deficit by $114 billion through 2032.

J.P. Freire, a spokesman for Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, said on Twitter that the revenue estimates would necessitate more audits on middle-class taxpayers. He argued that the agency often audited taxpayers who did not owe the government any additional money.

“And ramping up those audits is going to be painful,” Mr. Freire said.

The money is intended to invest in an agency that has become depleted over the years. The effects of years of neglect and Republican cuts to the I.R.S. budget were highlighted by reports recently published by the Ways and Means Committee as it released former President Donald J. Trump’s taxes.

The Biden administration has promised to prioritize using the additional funding to improve customer service at the I.R.S. so that it is easier for taxpayers to get answers to questions. It has also pledged that audit rates for taxpayers earning less than $400,000 a year will not go up.

“House Republicans’ legislation would allow wealthy and corporate tax evaders to continue avoiding taxes owed, increasing the burden on honest, hardworking families who pay their taxes with every paycheck,” said Ashley Schapitl, a Treasury Department spokeswoman. “The I.R.S. audits nearly 80 percent fewer millionaires than a decade ago, and this legislation would deny the agency much-needed resources to hire top talent to go after the $163 billion in taxes avoided by the top 1 percent annually.”

Jonathan Weisman contributed reporting.