Watchdog group OpenTheBooks which monitors government spending has revealed that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) spent $10 million on ammunition, rifles, ballistic shields, shotguns, body armor and more gear suitable for a militarized tax agency just since 2020. The report also shows that the IRS spent a total of $35.2 million since 2006 on the same kinds of equipment. The Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act included $80 billion in new funding for the IRS, $70 billion of which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy removed via legislation in the House but the bill has stalled in the Democratic controlled Senate. The IRS hopes to hire 87,000 new agents with the funding. According to the New York Post, the IRS says it needs military-style gear because of its involvement in drug, gang and organized crime investigations.
