In the last few months, the Internal Revenue Service has closed about 175 delinquent tax cases for millionaires, generating $38 million in recoveries as part of its bid to crack down on wealthy tax cheats, the agency said Friday.
"This is just the start," the IRS said in a statement. "We will continue to go after delinquent millionaires as we ramp up enforcement capabilities" through the Inflation Reduction Act, which increased the IRS budget by roughly $80 billion over 10 years.
In recent months, the IRS states, its criminal Investigation team has closed "a lengthy list of cases where wealthy taxpayers have been sentenced for tax evasion, money laundering and filing false tax returns."
Instead of paying taxes, "these evaders spent money owed to the government on gambling at casinos, vacations and the purchase of luxury goods," the IRS states.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Friday in a statement that "Democrats promised better taxpayer service and a crackdown on wealthy tax cheats when we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, and this new report shows that the IRS is delivering on both."
Added Wyden: "This great news about high-income tax enforcement comes on the heels of the smoothest tax filing season in many years. If the wealthy pay their fair share, there will be more headroom in the budget for Congress to address big priorities like shoring up Medicare and Social Security, improving education and rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges."
In one case, the IRS said that one high-income taxpayer was ordered to pay more than $6 million in restitution.
