IRS: "Stick 'em up, America!"

When Congress tells the IRS they get a budget cut this year, what does the IRS do?

In the recent budget deal, Congress cut the IRS budget by $346 million to $10.9 billion — $1.5 billion less than the administration asked for. The IRS' budget has been reduced about $1 billion since 2010.

To elucidate, the Congress has reduced the IRS budget from ~$12.2 billion in 2010 to $10.9 billion in 2015. That's $1.2 billion reduction over five years. In other words, they got cut 10% in total at a rate of 2% per year.

2% per year. Doesn't sound like much, does it? Didn't your taxes go up two percent this year?

IRS response is to stage a stick up.

"People call it furloughs; I view it as: Are we going to have to shut the place down? And at this point, that will be the last thing we do, … but there is no way we can say right now that that wont happen," Koskinen told reporters at a Thursday press conference on the upcoming tax season. ...
Koskinen says there is no more fat to cut at the IRS.

In other words: "No tax refunds for you, America. We've got your damn money, if you want it back you better bring these Republicans to heel. Back to work, slaves."

And people wonder why there's a Tea Party.

The Phantom