Business & Economy

On The Money — Yellen eyes $80B boost to ‘transform’ IRS

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is seen during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing to examine the President’s FY 2023 budget on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is readying the IRS for an overhaul of the U.S. tax collection system. We’ll also look at what Biden administration officials have to say about extending the current student loans freeze, TikTok’s crackdown on paid influencer political ads ahead of midterms, and more.  

But first, Solange Knowles is making big history.

Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan LaneAris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Yellen readies the IRS for an overhaul

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is preparing the IRS for an overhaul of the U.S. tax collection system made possible by an $80 billion funding boost for the agency included in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act. 

In a Wednesday memo from Yellen to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig obtained by The Hill, Yellen said she’s giving the IRS six months to deliver an in-depth operational plan to figure out exactly how that $80 billion should be spent. 

In interviews with The Hill, law enforcement agents from the IRS criminal investigation division also pushed back against this characterization of the IRS’s work, saying that “the bulk of IRS’s tax administration work is done by civilian auditors and revenue collectors.” 

However many new civilian auditors are going to be hired, the IRS is anticipating a wave of upcoming retirements at the agency. In her memo Yellen said it was a priority “to replace the attrition that is on the horizon from the expected retirement of at least 50,000 IRS employees over the next five years.” 

The Hill’s Tobias Burns has the deets here.

LEADING THE DAY

Cardona says student loan borrowers will know ‘soon’ if payment pause extended 

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wouldn’t say in a recent interview whether the Biden administration plans to extend a current freeze on federal student loan repayments, but he indicated a decision will be made “soon.” 

“While I don’t have an announcement here today, I will tell you we’re having conversations daily with the White House and borrowers will know directly and soon from us when a decision is made,” Cardona said during an interview on “CBS Mornings.” 

However, administration officials have not publicly determined their plans for forgiveness or an extension of the repayment pause. Cardona was pressed about the hold-up that’s kept officials from reaching a decision thus far.  

“I can’t get into the conversations we’re having daily, but I will tell you that from day one, the president’s been very clear about making sure we’re leading with students first,” he said. 

Aris has more on this here.

CRACK DOWN

TikTok to crack down on paid influencer political ads ahead of midterms 

TikTok will label all content related to the midterms and crack down on paid influencer political ads as part of its plans to prepare for the upcoming elections, the company announced Wednesday.  

The popular video sharing app will label content identified as being related to the elections and all content from accounts that belong to governments, politicians and political parties in the U.S.  

The Hill’s Rebecca Klar has more info here.

CAP IT COMING

Caps on prescription drug price hikes most popular aspect of Inflation Reduction Act: poll 

A cap on prescription drug price increases is the most popular part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the $430 billion climate, health care and tax package that President Biden signed into law Tuesday, according to a Politico-Morning Consult poll.  

The poll found that 76 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat support placing a limit on the amount that prescription drugs can increase, while only 13 percent strongly or somewhat oppose it.  

The Hill’s Jared Gans has the breakdown here.

Good to Know

Renewable energy will comprise nearly a quarter of electricity generated in the U.S. this year, according to projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).  

The number represents an increase from 2020 and 2021, both of which saw about 20 percent generation from renewables. The EIA further projected the proportion will increase to 24 percent renewables in 2023.  

Here’s what else we have our eye on: 

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.

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