Warren, Wyden, Luján, Thompson, 39 Lawmakers Press IRS on Delayed Tax Gap Estimate, Demand Transparency on Wealthy Tax Cheats

“[Y]ou appear to be hiding the size of the tax gap from the public while pursuing policies that will make it larger.” Text of Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), both members of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and U.S. Representative Mike Thompson, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy, led 39 lawmakers in pressing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano on his decision to delay publication of the agency’s annual tax gap estimate, which measures how much taxpayers owe but fail to pay on time. The lawmakers warned that withholding this data hides the extent to which wealthy tax cheats are costing taxpayers billions of dollars and undermines policymakers’ ability to hold tax cheats accountable. “Your choice to hide the size of the tax gap from the American people is especially egregious in light of the Trump administration’s gutting of the IRS’s enforcement of the nation’s tax laws — threatening to expand the tax gap itself significantly,” wrote the lawmakers . The IRS has regularly calculated the tax gap since 1979 and began publishing estimates annually during the Biden administration. Its most recent estimate, published in 2024, found that the tax gap totaled $696 billion. The highest-income taxpayers are responsible for a disproportionate share of unpaid taxes, with the top 10 percent accounting for 64 percent of unpaid individual income taxes. The IRS had scheduled its next tax gap estimate for release in fall 2025 but has yet to publish it. Last month, an IRS spokesperson said the agency was updating its methodology but did not explain what changes it was considering or when the data would be released. The delay comes as the Trump administration has weakened tax enforcement, cutting nearly 40 percent of staff in the IRS’s Global High Wealth Unit, dismantling the agency’s partnership audit group, and weakening its Criminal Investigations division. Meanwhile, IRS audit revenue fell by one-third, or $3.5 billion, last year. “In sum, you appear to be hiding the size of the tax gap from the public while pursuing policies that will make it larger,” concluded the lawmakers. The lawmakers demanded that the IRS immediately release its latest tax gap estimates and explain any proposed changes to its methodology. They also requested a breakdown of unpaid taxes attributable to offshore activities, corporations, and individuals at the top of the income distribution. The lawmakers requested answers to their questions by November 15, 2026. The letter was also signed by Senators John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), along with Representatives Donald Beyer (D-Va.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Bradley Schneider (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Analilia Mejia (D-N.J.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and Becca Balint (D-Vt.). Senator Warren has been at the forefront of the fight against the Trump administration’s cuts to IRS staffing and tax breaks for the rich and powerful: In July 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, led 13 senators in investigating whether Frank Bisignano, Chief Executive Officer of the IRS, misled Congress and the public about his agency’s staffing problems after the Trump administration gutted the IRS workforce. In December 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and King (I-Maine) led 15 senators in pressing Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent and IRS Chief of Taxpayer Services Ken Corbin, warning that the IRS was not prepared for the 2025 tax filing season — and that failure could saddle American taxpayers with filing problems and refund delays. In March 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Wyden (D-Ore.) led their colleagues in urging the Acting Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to launch an investigation into the Trump administration’s decision to fire nearly 7,000 IRS employees and close over 100 Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs). The letter followed reports revealing that the IRS was preparing to gut half of its workforce, threatening to undermine the agency’s ability to crack down on wealthy tax cheats and provide quality service for American taxpayers. ###