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Can you believe it? Progressives are still pushing for armed IRS audits notwithstanding defunding threats! Progressive combatants of the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) armed enforcement section, the Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) division, are unwavering amid growing political unrest about funding and scope of the organization. This is particularly evident as conservative legislators seek to slash significant portions of the IRS, arguing that increased enforcement unfairly affects middle-class taxpayers and small businesses.

The IRS-CI published its current annual report on December 5, revealing that the division added hundreds of special agents in fiscal year 2024, bringing its ranks into the thousands—the highest level in nearly a decade. Authorized to carry weapons and apply lethal force, these agents position the IRS-CI as one of the most militarized law enforcement arms in the federal government, beating the CIA, FBI, and NSA!

This IRS Audit Army division has seen an 11% annual rise. Years of dwindling personnel have preceded this spike; numbers dropped in 2010. IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco blamed the rising difficulties on changing financial crimes and new technology.

Aggressive policies of the division resulted in the discovery of $1.2 billion in assets, $1.7 billion in court-ordered reparations, and $9.1 billion in financial dealings. Reflecting what officials termed a "new era of increased armed enforcement," its conviction rate climbed to 90% from 88.4% the year before.

But small-business advocates and Conservative legislators have fiercely objected to this rapid expansion. Despite the agency's declared concentration on high-level financial crimes, many contend that a larger armed IRS unit creates the specter of more audits targeting middle-income taxpayers and small businesses.

The $80 billion stimulus under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act drove the spending frenzy. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act ultimately took back around $20 billion of that money, but set aside almost $46 billion specifically for armed enforcement. Republican legislators have consistently denounced this distribution, claiming it will cause undue monitoring of regular citizens.

The global expansion of IRS-CI underscores its growing impact. Emphasizing its worldwide goal to address financial crimes, the division opened new outpost offices in Nassau, Bahamas, and a cyber attaché post in Singapore in 2024.

The IRS-CI intends to use its enlarged resources to undertake even more difficult citizen and small business investigations as the fiscal year 2025 draws near. Chief Ficco said the division's objective is still quite clear: "to protect the integrity of the U.S. tax system" by adjusting to the changing scene of financial crimes.

However, it remains to be seen what Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will do to the agency that has repeatedly audited their own organizations. Will DOGE put the IRS on a diet, slash its budget, defund them, or simply let the IRS armed audit army have its way with citizens and small businesses?

Final Word: A flat, fair, or value-added tax system should replace the IRS, according to a large number of citizens.