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 The Republican Study Committee, which counts over two-thirds of
House of Representatives Republicans as its members, called recently
for "the complete elimination of the IRS."
The committee's support for this idea, once confined to the fringes
of conservative ideology, suggests it is more widely accepted on
Capitol Hill than ever. But many in Washington, including some
Republicans, have trouble taking it seriously.
Calls to abolish the IRS have not been well thought through, said
Republican Representative Charles Boustany in an interview.
“Before we start making blanket statements about abolishing the IRS,
I think it’s important to focus on what the tax code for the 21st
century should look like," said Boustany, who does not belong to the
172-member study committee.
In an election year of dramatic rhetoric that is often short on
details, the committee's proposal, released April 22 and echoing
language from a March budget plan, is brief.
 As part of a wider appeal for federal tax reform, the committee says
simply: "This proposal takes the bold step of calling for the
complete elimination of the IRS. Tax collection and enforcement
activities would be moved to a new, smaller and more accountable
department at the Treasury."
No further specifics were offered for how to replace an agency that
is already part of Treasury, collected $3.3 trillion in revenue in
2015, and processed 240 million tax returns.
Texas Representative Bill Flores, chairman of the study committee,
was not available for comment. His spokeswoman Caitlin Carroll said
the IRS closure proposal should be seen as part of a larger push for
comprehensive tax reform.
Steven Rosenthal, senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy
Center at the Urban Institute, a think tank , said, "We are in an
election year, and bashing the IRS is particularly attractive in an
election year."
From a global perspective, the IRS does a good job, Rosenthal said,
noting that U.S. income tax compliance is about 82 percent, one of
the highest levels in the world.
Still, in the United States, antipathy for the IRS is widespread and
long-standing. One of Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz's
biggest applause lines on the campaign trail is, "Imagine abolishing
the IRS!"
'SOUNDS TRUMPISH'
Asked recently about Cruz's line and calls to close the agency, IRS
Commissioner John Koskinen said: "If you want to call it something
other than the IRS and that makes you feel better, that's okay with
me. But ultimately you got to have somebody somewhere who collects
the information, audits it and makes sure it’s accurate and valid
and collects the funding."
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Some Democrats scoff at the IRS closure proposal. "If there are
problems at the IRS ... we can straighten it out," said Democratic
Representative Elijah Cummings, adding Republicans should be wary of
advocating an idea that "sounds Trumpish."
Donald Trump, the anti-establishment front-runner for the Republican
presidential nomination, has not called for the abolition of the
IRS.
Congress has cut the IRS's budget 17 percent in real terms since
2010. In mid-April, the House approved several IRS-bashing bills,
including one to prevent it from making new hires until Treasury
certifies no agency employees are seriously delinquent on taxes
themselves.
The IRS is a long-time congressional punching bag but Republicans
have been hitting it harder since the IRS several years ago applied
extra scrutiny to conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt
status between 2010 and 2012 and came under attack for it from
Republicans.
Republican Representative Rob Woodall of Georgia has introduced a
bill every year since he entered Congress in 2011 to eliminate
income taxes and abolish the IRS.
Support for Woodall's bill has grown to 73 co-sponsors, including
the heads of the House tax and budget committees, but it has never
advanced. Nor has a similar bill in the Senate.
It was unclear how House Speaker Paul Ryan would treat the study
committee's proposal in drafting a party policy agenda ahead of the
Republican convention in Cleveland in July.
"The speaker welcomes input from the RSC and all members of our
conference," said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. Ryan has
sidestepped calls for abolishing the IRS in the past, while
frequently criticizing the agency.
(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and David Gregorio)
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