[tag]Congress[/tag] has been debating for months the idea of eliminating, or at least seriously curtailing, the [tag]estate tax[/tag]. So far, fiscal sanity has held its ground and GOP efforts to cut taxes for the hyper-wealthy (again) have failed.
But the [tag]Bush[/tag] [tag]administration[/tag], true to form, has come up with a way around this pesky legislative process: it’s going to dramatically cut back on enforcing tax law in this area.
The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the [tag]lawyers[/tag] at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others. The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency’s 345 estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days. […]
[S]ix I.R.S. estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the scenes at the I.R.S. to shield people with political connections and complex tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits.
Sharyn Phillips, a veteran I.R.S. estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called the cuts a “back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax.”
Keep in mind, it’s not like we’re talking about removing inefficient and unneeded attorneys here. As the NYT article noted, estate tax lawyers are “the most productive tax law enforcement personnel” at the [tag]IRS[/tag], who, on average, fund over $2,000 of unpaid estate taxes for every hour they work. Or, in Bush’s America, used to work.
There are a couple of angles to consider here.
First, it’s almost impressive that Bush can, in a practical sense, cut taxes for the rich simply through enforcement mechanisms. The administration has effectively issued a memo to the nation’s wealthiest families: don’t worry about paying your tax bills; we’re no longer worrying about it.
As Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS workers, said, “If these lawyers are not there to audit the gift and estate tax returns, then a lot of taxes that should be paid will go uncollected, and that impacts every taxpayer who is paying their fair share.” Indeed, I suspect that’s the point.
Second, as Noam Scheiber noted, this is another helpful reminder about how the Bush administration perceives the policy-making process.
I guess the argument for ignoring Congress on things like NSA eavesdropping and treatment of detainees is that the president has the authority as commander-in-chief to prosecute the war on terror however he sees fit. Well, what’s the argument for ignoring Congress when it comes to tax policy? It’s looking more and more like the administration thinks it can do whatever it wants, on whatever issue it wants. Not that this should surprise anyone.
No, of course not. Debate among lawmakers about a contentious and expensive policy is, as far as the [tag]president[/tag] is concerned, for losers.