Between 2010 and 2017 the IRS budget was slashed by two billion dollars:
The richest one percent should be audited at higher rates than productive taxpayers because the rich bribe government for the laws and institutions that allow private fortunes to come into existence in the first place.
When those who own the private fortunes refuse to pay taxes they owe, productive members of society pay the cost in higher taxes or lost services.
How the IRS Was Gutted
"Had the billions in budget reductions occurred all at once, with tens of thousands of auditors, collectors and customer service representatives streaming out of government buildings in a single day, the collapse of the IRS might have gotten more attention.
"But there have been no mass layoffs or dramatic announcements. Instead, it’s taken eight years to bring the agency that funds the government this low. Over time, the IRS has slowly transformed, one employee departure at a time.
"The result is a bureaucracy on life support and tens of billions in lost government revenue. ProPublica estimates a toll of at least $18 billion every year, but the true cost could easily run tens of billions of dollars higher.
"The cuts are depleting the staff members who help ensure that taxpayers pay what they owe. As of last year, the IRS had 9,510 auditors.
"That’s down a third from 2010. The last time the IRS had fewer than 10,000 revenue agents was 1953, when the economy was a seventh of its current size."