Tax Day Sparks Reflection on IRS Funding, Federal Spending and Debt

Tuesday is tax day in America, and voices across the spectrum are reflecting on taxes, federal spending, and more.

Default Delay: An analysis in CNN explained that the revenue brought in this tax season will determine how long the Federal government has to solve the ongoing debt ceiling debate. The U.S. hit the debt ceiling in January. Since then, the treasury has been enacting “extraordinary measures” to pay bills and avoid a debt default. The article states that the final tally from tax season will give House Republicans and the White House “a better sense of how much more time they have to negotiate a solution to the debt ceiling drama.”

A Well-Funded Agency: The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board argued that the past decade of budget cuts at the IRS has “cost the country megabucks and encouraged illegal conduct.” The piece stated that Biden’s budget proposal, which emphasized that Americans earning under $400,000 per year would not see tax hikes, is “downright un-American, and counterproductive,” determining that earners below that threshold sometimes do not pay what they owe in taxes.

Less Spending, Less Taxes: A writer in Reason argued that “there's nothing particularly civilized about the way our governments spend the money we provide.” The piece determined that federal taxes result in a “giant grab bag” for politicians from both sides of the aisle to spend at ever-increasing rates, stating, “the problem isn't the greed of people who fork over their hard-earned money, but the insatiable appetite of government.”