“I’m the money,” announced the British Treasury accountant Vesper Lynde as she introduced herself to Agent 007 in the classic scene from Casino Royale. The Bond girl would eventually meet her end in a watery grave off the coast of Venice — 007 wasn’t in time to save her. Her demise left the following existential question unanswered: Had she carried a gun, would she have thwarted the bad guys, got away with taxpayer funds, and sailed off into the sunset with James?
While the ill-fated accountant wasn’t likely the inspiration for the new IRS recruitment campaign to hire CPAs licensed to kill, we can’t help but be troubled that the just passed Inflation Reduction Act, which will super-size the IRS, will mean an expanded army of gun-toting IRS agents.
The $80 billion dollar infusion to the IRS – half going to crack down on tax evasion, was intended by Democrats to go after the wealthy. But according to an analysis by House Republicans, small business owners and Americans who earn less than $75,000 per year are slated to receive 60 percent of the additional tax audits expected under the spending package – that’s 710,863 additional IRS audits. Those with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000 will receive 236,685 of additional audits. Making more than $1 million? You may be one of the additional 52,295 people who will be audited. Overall, the IRS would conduct more than 1.2 million more annual audits and take in an additional $124 billion in revenue.
At first, I was skeptical about the IRS want ads. But they turned out to be true. The enforcement branch of the IRS is looking for applicants who can:
Carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.
Be willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments.
“It is disturbing that people already faced with the idea of increased audits by the IRS think that the government is going to use the threat of deadly force. An audit is upsetting enough as it is, this is just almost a bridge too far,” said Wall Street Journal columnist Dan Henninger (FOX News 8/11/22).
The IRS is not the only government agency using firearms. While the Biden Administration wants to restrict gun ownership for Americans, the federal government is amassing its own stockpile of guns and ammunition. Open the Books, an organization advocating for greater government transparency, reported that nearly $1 billion was spent on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment in the 103 federal agencies outside of the Defense Department between 2015 and 2019, the latest year available. Of that spending, auditors found that $110.6 million, divided among 76 non-law enforcement administrative agencies — including the EPA and the Social Security Administration — was spent on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment. Today, there are more than 200,000 non-DOD federal employees carrying firearms, more than our 186,000 U.S. Marines, reported Open the Books. The Deep State has the gold and the guns.
“I have a theory, said FOX News host Greg Gutfeld, “the ad is to make the job sound exciting and cool, you won’t be on a desk going through spreadsheets… you’re going to be out in the field, with your choice of weaponry…chased by criminals who didn’t declare their cash tips.” (The Five, FOX News, 8/11/22)
Sounds like something Miss Moneypenny should consider.
Rowena Itchon is senior vice president of the Pacific Research Institute.
