Kingsport Reporter

Washington, D.C. - On April 19, 2023, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger introduced H.R. 2556, the Simplify, Don’t Amplify, the IRS Act, which would implement reforms to bring more transparency and accountability to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and help ensure that the IRS cannot be weaponized against American Taxpayers.

Under this legislation, several taxpayer safeguards and protections would be enshrined into law, including:

1. Codifying a Trump Administration rule that protects groups regardless of political affiliation or beliefs, and prohibits the IRS from publicizing donor information
2. Increasing the penalty for releasing private taxpayer information and making it easier to terminate employees found responsible for doing so
3. Prohibiting the IRS from launching targeted audits
4. Prohibiting IRS employees from engaging in taxpayer-funded union time during tax filing season

“Fighting for the American Taxpayer is one of my top priorities in Congress. I was proud to support the passage of the very first bill introduced in the 118th Congress, which repealed the Biden Administration’s efforts to supersize the IRS, ” said Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger. “At a time when Biden’s Federal agencies are being weaponized, it's critical that Congress leads on this issue and protects the American Taxpayer from one of the most dreaded 3-letter agencies.”

Read the full bill here.

A companion bill (S. 1101) was introduced in the Senate by Senator Mike Braun (R-IN), which can be found here.

Original source can be found here.