Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Simplify, Don't Amplify the IRS Act
This bill limits Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement authority and modifies certain IRS reporting requirements. It also eliminates certain restrictions on the use of coronavirus recovery funds.
Among other provisions, the bill
increases the gross receipts reporting threshold for certain religious and charitable organizations from $5,000 to $50,000;
generally increases penalties for unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information and for such disclosures by tax return preparers;
requires the IRS to establish a fellowship program to recruit private sector tax experts to create a task force to. among other things, educate IRS employees on emerging issues, perform audits, and address offshore tax evasion; and
sets forth provisions for reducing improper payments to taxpayers.
The bill also requires the IRS to report annually on the tax gap estimate for the most recent taxable year. The IRS must use artificial intelligence to calculate an estimate of the tax gap. The bill defines tax gap as the difference between tax liabilities owed to the United States and those liabilities actually collected.
The bill restricts funding for IRS audits and enforcement until the IRS publishes an updated tax gap projection.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on April 7, 2022. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 7, 2022: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced it on April 7, 2022. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 7, 2022, 1617 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1617 days ago, on April 7, 2022.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers