House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) blasted the IRS’s mandatory audit program under former President Donald Trump, calling it “dormant at best.”
The committee’s investigation into the program was released after the panel voted to release Trump’s tax returns. In a press release about the investigation, Neal levied harsh criticism against the IRS for its perceived ineffectiveness. The committee’s investigation found only a single audit performed during the Trump administration.
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“We are only here today because four years ago, our request to learn more about the program under 6103 was denied. This was the first time that this key oversight function was hampered, and our Committee’s jurisdiction was challenged,” Neal said. “The Committee expected that these mandatory audits were being conducted promptly and in accordance with IRS policies.
Instead, the committee’s review found that under the former president’s administration, the program was dormant. “We know now, the first mandatory audit was opened two years into his presidency. On the same day this Committee requested his returns,” said Neal.
“We anticipated the IRS would expand the mandatory audit program to account for the complex nature of the former president’s financial situation yet found no evidence of that. This is a major failure of the IRS under the prior administration, and certainly not what we had [hoped] to find,” he added.
In his concluding remarks on the matter, Neal urged Congress to step in to better hold the program accountable, saying he had put forward legislation to ensure the program wouldn’t repeat its past mistakes.
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“The evidence is clear. Congress must step in. I’ve proposed legislation to put the program above reproach. Ensuring IRS conducts yearly, timely examinations while publicly disclosing certain information,” he concluded.
