IRS Warns Congress, Cutting The Tax Agency's Budget Could Increase The Deficit

The IRS boss has warned Congress, cutting the tax agency's budget could increase the deficit. Commissioner Douglas Shulman tells a Senate appropriations subcommittee that a proposed cut of $2 billion would result in fewer collections and therefore less revenue into federal coffers. GovExec reports, Shulman set out to defend the administration's request for a 9.4 percent increase to the IRS budget for 2012, or $13.6 billion. Shulman says an insufficient budget could also cause a decrease in tax compliance in the long term. He says the IRS has saved $190 million in an efficiency drive. IRS has closed five of 10 data centers, and it stopped automatic mailings of 1040 forms since most taxpayers file electronically.