The common tech narrative blames Intuit's lobbying for the lack of free government tax software. However, the primary opposition comes from powerful anti-tax advocates like Grover Norquist's ATR, who view simplifying tax compliance as a "tax increase by stealth" that makes raising taxes easier.

Underfunding the IRS is not a neutral act but a policy choice that disproportionately benefits the rich. Auditing complex, high-value returns requires significant resources. A weakened IRS cannot effectively pursue wealthy tax evaders, creating a massive "tax gap" that functions as a stealth tax cut for the top earners.

Contrary to common political narratives, undocumented immigrants are often a net positive for government finances. They are heavily documented for tax purposes (e.g., Social Security) and pay into these systems but are less likely to draw benefits, effectively subsidizing programs for citizens and creating a highly profitable workforce.

The biggest tax cut isn't a legislative change but rather neutering the IRS's budget. The agency lacks the resources to audit the complex finances of the wealthy, incentivizing aggressive tax strategies and leaving hundreds of billions in legally owed taxes uncollected each year.

Senator Booker highlights a Congressional Budget Office finding that significant tax cheating occurs at high income levels. Simply enforcing existing tax laws by adequately staffing the IRS to audit complex returns from the wealthy could recover tens of billions of dollars for the government.

The gutting of the IRS is not an ideological choice but a symptom of a fiscal crisis. With unmanageable debt, politicians cannibalize institutions for short-term electoral gain, as traditional tax enforcement can no longer solve the core problem.

Instead of focusing on changing the tax code, the most significant tax benefit for the ultra-wealthy has come from systematically cutting the IRS budget. This prevents the agency from auditing complex returns, effectively making the wealthy 'protected by the law, but not bound by it,' and creating a massive enforcement gap.

When a political party uses the IRS to punish enemies, it simultaneously shields its wealthy allies from audits. This allows them to evade taxes, creating a revenue gap. To fund the government, that money must be collected from lower and middle-income taxpayers, effectively creating a tax increase for them.

Political debates about raising taxes are a distraction from massive government inefficiency. With up to 10% of the federal budget—over $500 billion annually—lost to fraud, waste, and abuse, any new revenue will just feed a broken system. The first step must be plugging the leak.