Elon Musk asks if IRS should be ‘eliminated’ after agency demands $20 billion

Billionaire Elon Musk asked social media users on Wednesday whether the Internal Revenue Service should “stripped of” — a day after a top Biden-Harris administration official urged Congress to give the federal agency $20 billion.

“The IRS just said it wants $20 billion more money,” Musk, who will co-lead the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency under President-elect Donald Trump, wrote on Twitter.

The world’s richest man then asked users for their views on the tax authority’s budget situation.

Musk asked in a survey, “Do you think its budget should be: increased, the same, decreased, removed.”

Over 60% of X users preferred to “delete” the IRS’s budget.

Only 3.9% said the federal agency’s budget should remain the same, 5.6% felt it deserves more money and 29.9% said the IRS budget should be reduced.

The Tesla CEO’s tweet comes after Treasury Department Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo’s tweet desperate public plea Billions of dollars more funding for the IRS.

“The IRS is going to have to make a dramatic decision about potentially freezing hiring and starting a budget for a world in which they don’t have the $20 billion that would take away a lot of their progress,” Adeyemo told reporters in a press call Tuesday. It will stop.” ,

“If they don’t get the $20 billion at risk, they will run out of enforcement money at the current pace in fiscal year 2025,” he said.

This huge shortfall appears to be the result of text included in stopgap legislation Congress passed in September to keep the federal government funded until December 20.

Congressional Republicans have included $20 billion in IRS enforcement cuts in government funding legislation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Adeyemo urged Congress to unlock $20 billion in funding for the IRS in the upcoming budget fight, claiming that without the money, the national deficit would be reduced by about $140 billion through thousands of fewer audits for the wealthy and large corporations. Will join.

Musk and DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy intend to use the Trump administration’s new initiative to reduce government spending.

The SpaceX founder and X owner has promised to cut the already bloated federal budget.at least $2 trillion,

The head of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit that advocates fiscal restraint, joined Adeyemo on the call and supported his plea.

CRFB President Maya McGinnis said, “Given the fiscal situation we are fully hopeful that any revenue that effectively goes to the IRS from repeal, defunding, or otherwise will go to the IRS to help with tax collections in the coming months and years.” There will be no turning back.” Said.

his group $20 billion in potential savings identified On Wednesday, President Biden’s “directive to limit the use of IRS enforcement funding” was reversed.