Tax loopholes have been plaguing society for decades, to the exclusive benefit of the super-rich. Missing out on all of that tax revenue in circulation only puts the general public farther behind. Public works projects and public services like police departments and public school systems are left without the funding that they could have. Change might be attainable if the people came together in protest of what is happening, but the fact of the matter is that the general public is disinterested at best in this topic. The best chance for progress to be made is through the government agency created for this exact purpose, the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS is currently unable to respond to the abuse of tax loopholes due to low funding and manpower. Increased funding for the IRS would give the agency more of a basis to react to the abuse of tax loopholes, subsequently moving the wealthy’s one-sided balance of who pays the most taxes back towards the middle. A change must be made in the agency’s budget in order to give it the ability to correct the wrongs in taxation that occur every year.

A solution to the issue of the taxation imbalance problem, where the wealthy pay significantly less tax than other economic groups, is necessary. While other methods have been discussed, the most sensible option is allocating more funds to the IRS. This organization is built specifically for this purpose and is capable of closing tax loopholes. Funding the IRS would increase the government’s income and balance out the disproportionalities between the wealthy and middle class. Because the IRS is not properly funded, billions of dollars in tax revenue are lost, which is a substantial amount that would shift the balance. The average American only stands to benefit from this solution.

The underfunding of the IRS, contrary to popular belief, actually takes money out of the pockets of the average taxpaying American. If 80 billion was invested into the IRS, it would raise 2.3 trillion extra funds over the next two decades, primarily from better enforcement of taxation on wealthy taxpayers and large corporations according to the US Treasury. Increased funding for the IRS was a part of Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act that has not seen any success in Congress. The difficulty of getting more funds allocated to the IRS with congressional approval is quite a monumental task. Many Congressmen and congresswomen are lobbied by the wealthy or have a lot of wealthy friends, or maybe are wealthy themselves. If funding the IRS means that their friends or even themselves are going to lose their money, they would never pass any act such as the Build Back Better act.

If this revenue were obtained by the government instead of being swindled away by the wealthy, life would improve substantially for the middle and lower class. With the extra funds, public school systems would drastically improve and our children would be better educated, public properties like parks would be upgraded, the police force would be better equipped to handle criminals and crime rates would decrease, and everything that makes our communities run would likely be of higher quality due to increased budgets. This is a desirable future, but one that cannot be obtained until someone can put a stop to the rich’s use of methods like tax loopholes. 

While it is true that nobody wants to fill out their forms come tax time, the IRS is a valuable resource to the public. Filling out your forms is a somewhat arduous process. Many would call the IRS to assist with any difficulties in filing their taxes but have recently been met with voice answering machines. There have also been, frustratingly, many delays in receiving tax returns. As noted in “Senators Press Yellen to Boost IRS Funding” by Melanie Waddell, IRS staffing has decreased by 22 percent, and the number of tax filers has increased by 14 percent. Only 1 in 9 calls to the IRS are ever answered. If an agency cannot handle its own basic functions, how is it supposed to attempt to tackle the 1 percent’s vice grip on the tax code? The IRS is completely aware of what is occurring but lacks the resources to respond.

The article “Eliminating Tax Loopholes That Benefit Corporations And Wealthy Individuals” goes into detail about the history found behind the race to pay fewer taxes between the extremely wealthy and the middle class. As it seems, the middle class is much less interested in taxes than the wealthy. Presumably because the wealthy have a lot more to gain from using tax loopholes and a lot more accessible methods, they take advantage much more. With wealth comes power and influence. The upper class is able to influence government policies and such for their gain, leading to everyone else footing the bill. Other factors have also skewed this “race” in the wealthy’s favor, such as the weakening of workers’ unions. The solution is to turn to the IRS, which could be the answer to stop the wealthy from using tax loopholes. If more revenue is in play from the rich, the pinch would be significantly less for the middle class. 

An attempt of the middle and lower class to stop this is very necessary, but because of the complete lack of interest in the topic, however, very little is being done at the moment. Wealthy people have much more to gain from the use of tax loopholes, and they have the power and influence to sway lawmakers into passing legislation that benefits their agenda. The first step is through elections. When passing your vote for a politician, vote for someone who has the allocation of funds for the IRS as part of their plan in office. With our many voices and a collective effort, we can begin a change. The IRS can improve this situation given the proper amount of resources, and we must do what we can to see that that happens.