More from the article ...

... Internal Revenue Service layoffs

According to the Washington Post, DOGE's plan to cut staff at the IRS by up to 50% would lead to a $400 billion increase in uncollected taxes over the next 10 years. This could lead to $2 trillion in losses.

Right now, the IRS fails to collect around $700 billion in taxes that are owed each year. The Quarterly Journal of Economics suggests that every dollar that is spent on auditing individuals in the top 10% of earners returns around $12.

However, the Treasury Department's inspector general has previously estimated that each hour spent auditing a high earner creates close to $5,000 more in tax revenue, according to The New York Times.

Tax season could also be a lot less efficient if these employees are cut. During the 2022 filing season, the IRS only answered less than 20% of the calls that they received. That was when the IRS had around 79,000 employees. The Trump administration is reportedly looking to cut it to around 50,000 employees. ...