LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Pete Stauber and the IRS

By Pamela Kelsey, Bemidji

January 25, 2023 at 6:20 AM

The IRS has the oldest IT system in the federal government. Each year more than 260 million returns are filed and some are still transcribed by hand due to the outdated IT system. This is why some returns filed during the pandemic have yet to be processed.

According to a recent Washington Post piece, titled written by Natasha Sarin and Lawrence Summers, the Inflation Reduction Act is giving the IRS $80 billion to start addressing the IT problems and the backlog of returns.

It isn't enough to solve all of the problems, including the underpayment or no payment of taxes by some of the very wealthy individuals and corporations, but it is a start in the right direction.

Not paying the taxes that you owe is a crime, but the IRS does not have enough folks in the field to get the job done. That, plus decades of underfunding the agency, has led us to this crisis.

The average low- and middle-class citizen pays their taxes but the tax cheats don't pay their taxes. Without tax monies, we can't fund schools, community infrastructure, roads, bridges, advanced education, police, fire, public safety and on and on 鈥� the entities that make society work and keep us safe. This is good for ALL of us whether you are Blue, Red or Independent.

In Pete Stauber's latest newsletter put out on Jan. 13, he is proud that the first piece of legislation coming from the 118th Congress is a bill they passed to rescind the funding of the monies to improve and update the IRS. He claims the act is going to target low- and middle-income citizens and small businesses.

He says nothing about the billions of dollars owed by very wealthy families and very wealthy corporations across our country. Please, fellow citizens, take the time to look this up on legitimate sources and take the time to email or call Pete Stauber and ask him why he is voting against the best interests of Minnesota's 8th Congressional District.