US Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, speaks with reporters before a vote on an election reform bill at Capitol Hill. June 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. AFPOn Tuesday, three U.S. senators led by Elizabeth Warren, a progressive from Massachusetts, called on the Democrats to include money in their $3.5 trillion budget plan for the Internal Revenue Service to improve its tax enforcement. CNBC viewed the letter sent to Charles Rettig, IRS Commissioner. The senators urged the agency to show how improved enforcement could generate billions in federal tax owed. Warren and his co-signers stressed the need to restore the budget of the tax collector in order to hold those wealthy Americans accountable for their violations of the U.S. tax law. As Democrats try to include preferred provisions in a yet undefined budget reconciliation package, the letter arrives.Warren was joined by Senators. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote that the IRS budget renewal would allow it "go after wealthy taxpayers and provide faster, better service to the vast majority of Americans who pay their fair share." The senators said that the richest Americans have had the ability to use a variety of accountants and tax strategists as well as financial advisors, lawyers, lobbyists, and lawyers to avoid paying their fair share. The top 1% of Americans do not report more than a fifth their income on their tax returns. They also account for more that a third of all federal income tax unpaid. Whitehouse, Sanders, and Warren all urged Rettig answer a series of questions to demonstrate how incremental congressional funding would improve the IRS's enforcement of the tax code. Warren and other progressive Democrats are furious at the growing tax gap, the difference between taxes owed and taxes actually paid. This gap is often viewed as a proxy to tax avoidance. The Treasury Department overseeing the IRS estimates that the gap will reach $7 trillion in the next ten years. CNBC reached out to the department for comment but they did not respond immediately.
