In one successful case, an individual was ordered to pay more than $15 million in restitution last month for falsifying personal expenses as deductible business expenses, including the construction of a 51,000-square-foot mansion complete with an outdoor pool and pool house, as well as tennis, basketball and bocce courts, according to an IRS press release. “I think that the evidence that we’ve seen to date, in terms of the amount that we have recovered … points to this being a highly important effort for us,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said on a call with reporters. That brings the total to $160 million so far this year. So far, the IRS has closed 100 of those cases, collecting $122 million, it said Friday.Įarlier this year, the IRS collected $38 million from more than 175 high-income earners. In September, the IRS started seeking back taxes from about 1,600 taxpayers with income above $1 million and more than $250,000 in tax debt. Republicans have criticized the amount of money the IRS is getting, and future funding is uncertain.
The recent effort to target high-income individuals has been boosted by an increase in federal funding provided by Democrats last year through the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Internal Revenue Service has collected $160 million in back taxes this year by cracking down on millionaires who haven’t paid what they owe, the agency said Friday.
