The IRS commissioner was speaking out against proposed budget cuts coming out of the House of Representatives during a speaking engagement in San Diego Tuesday.
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said the possible cuts could hurt the agency's ability to enforce the nation's tax laws.
New IRS chief, John Koskinen, speaks to tax preparers in San Diego. Delivering smooth filing season top priority. pic.twitter.com/Trrd6LI4to
— Erik Anderson (@KPBSErik) July 15, 2014The Republican controlled House voted this week to trim more than a billion dollars from the IRS budget, which is $11.5 billion this year.
Koskinen said that will severely hamper the agency's ability to track down tax cheats. He pointed out that public service is already suffering because of five straight years of deep budget cuts.
"We are leaving billions of dollars on the table, that we can't collect because we have over 5,000 fewer revenue agents and revenue officers," Koskinen said. "Our taxpayer services and rate of completion of calls is going to plummet."
30 percent of calls to the IRS didn't get through last year, according to Koskinen, who went on to say, more cuts could push that number above 50 percent.
The commissioner said Congress will get what they pay for, and if they don't want to pay for enforcement they won't get it.
