If it's working properly,
the IRS is supposed to make sure
that everyone is paying their taxes
that people aren't evading paying
their taxes by breaking the law and
all of that but.
Unfortunately for quite a while it
has not been working properly and
that is because it has been
purposefully defunded over
the course of a number of years.
Well, now there is a bill that
is going to attempt to fix that.
And we are very lucky to be joined
by the representative putting
forward the bill, Representative
Carter joins us once again.
Representative Carter,
thank you for being here.
>> I'm great to always be on.
>> Thank you.
So tell us a little bit
about your legislation.
>> It's very simple right now,
the IRS actually audits someone
making $25,000 Delta Mississippi
more than they audit people who
are making millions in Park Avenue,
that is wrong.
What our bill does is it beefs up
the IRS auditing department, and
it says, you need to audit the top
1%, and the big corporations.
Many of them were simply evading
tax, not avoiding it,
evading it by not properly
disclosing all of their income in
the study showed that this would
raise $1.2 trillion over ten years.
This isn't some liberal economist.
This is Larry Summers and I'm sorry
and say just collect the tax you
can raise $1.2 trillion.
>> And the $1.2
trillion that's effectively getting
the corporations and
some individuals to pay the taxes
that they've legally been owing for
a long period of time,
they are just not paying, correct?
>> Exactly.
I mean, it's the way they do it is
they have business income and they
don't show the business income and
the IRS because they don't
honor them never gets at
this business income.
So this isn't some clever lawyer
scheme of finding some loopholes.
This is just simply buying on
your taxes.
It'd be as if you made it you make
75,000 and you put down on at
the IRS that you make 60,000.
Now, most people, they have a W-2,
as a congressman, you get a W-2 and
so it's hard to do.
But if you have a lot of assets and
if you have a business activity,
then there are ways that
you can not pay all your taxes, and
the only way to get after
that really is an audit.
>> And as you pointed out, I mean,
if anybody, any random person
who might be watching this show,
they can potentially be audited for
the vast majority of people who
are not bringing in millions or
billions of dollars.
This is unlikely to have much of
an effect on the mind soon.
>> Right. I mean, it says that you
have to do the audits
on the top 1% because that's where
a lot of the evasion is.
And right now the IRS spends more
effort going after people who
are getting the earned income tax
credit and
claiming to do two people
are claiming the same child and
we're going after things like that.
Instead of going where the revenue
is and the revenue is in the top 1%
and the big corporations are not
disclosing their income, and
this should be something that even
republicans are for, I mean,
we can argue about the margin.
Tax rates, you can argue with
the corporate tax rates, but
whose for allowing some people
not to play by the rules.
I mean, it would be like saying,
well, some people you don't have
to you can fall in basketball,
it doesn't matter.
I mean, that's so
contrary to the American ethos.
>> [LAUGH] Well, I think it's
interesting that you asked that
question because perhaps if it goes
up for vote, we might find out
because, what you're talking about
is, people who've been avoiding
paying their due, this is what
they're legally obligated to do and
it raises a lot of money without
actually having to raise taxes,
both of which are things that in
theory everyone would support.
But so far as you've been, you
know, sort of pushing this forward
in terms of the the Republican
caucus and also the Democrats.
What is the reception been like?
Are you seeing any republicans
are interested in potentially co
sponsoring this or
anything like that.
>> There's been some interest.
We haven't gotten republicans yet.
I mean, the big thing they say is,
you're putting too much of a burden
by auditing the 1%.
Why are you single?
Pulling them out and I say well
the data shows that they should be
singled out because that's where a
lot of the evasion is taking place.
But you know, that is
the counter-argument that are you
empowering the IRS and the agency,
but in my view most Americans want
people to play by the same rules.
>> And were this to come up for
a vote.
What is your feeling right now in
the House and in the Senate?
Let's assume that in the senate you
you might not get some Republicans.
Theoretically you could, but
if you wouldn't, is this something
that you think at least all of the
democrats would be unified behind?
>> I do, but I think so
much depends on the president, and
that's why we're working on
trying to get this into
the President's agenda.
And the President is looking for
easy ways to raise revenue, yet
look, I support
Senator Warren's wealth tax.
I think it's long overdue,
that is a position that
is going to be tough to get
the whole caucus behind.
This should be a no brainer.
I think this is
such a low hanging fruit.
When I read Natasha Sarin and
Larry Summers his paper,
I couldn't believe that it
would raise that much money.
It seemed too good to be true.
So this seems like such
an easy thing for
the democrats to get behind.
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