The Republicans don’t want to fix the IRS. Here’s how to do it anyway.

The current moment is perhaps the most important for U.S. tax administration since the income tax was put in place more than a century ago.

Consider just the past six months: Congress has passed the largest-ever increase in IRS funding; repeal of that funding has become the first legislative priority of the new Republican House majority; and the IRS has been tasked with implementing major novel tax provisions to address the climate crisis. Now, the agency faces an imminent leadership transition.

First, even after the $80 billion investment in 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS is in much greater danger of being under- rather than over-resourced.

Second, recent information has strengthened the case that the payoff for investment in tax collection is enormous.

Third, improvements in tax administration promote fairness.

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