Hickenlooper, Senate Colleagues Introduce Bill to Fight Tax Evasion by Wealthiest Americans and Corporations

The Stop Cheaters Act would raise an estimated $998 billion in net revenue over a ten-year period
WASHINGTON
– U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper recently joined 26 of his Senate colleagues to introduce the
Stop Corporations and High Earners from Avoiding Taxes and Enforce the Rules Strictly (
Stop CHEATERS) Act
, which would help the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) prevent tax evasion by wealthy individuals and large corporations, and strengthen services that make it easier for Americans to file their taxes, including free tax-payer assistance.
“Americans feel like our financial system is rigged, and our tax code is a major reason why,”
said Hickenlooper.
“Fixing it starts by making it easier for Americans to file their taxes and making the wealthiest corporations and individuals pay their fair share.”
Prior to receiving historic funding through the
Inflation Reduction Act
, the IRS suffered from decades of chronic underfunding, leading the agency to
disproportionately audit
lower income earners. As a result, it is estimated that corporations and high-income individuals with access to high-level accountants – frequently in the highest-income brackets –have been able to evade the taxes they owe, contributing to
$1 trillion in lost revenue
.
Yale Budget Lab estimates that the
Stop CHEATERS Act
would raise about $998 billion in net revenue over a ten-year period. For every dollar invested by this bill, the federal government would gain about $13 dollars in gross revenue.
More specifically, the Stop CHEATERS Act would:
Restore the IRS and ensure it is properly funded by providing over $83 billion in mandatory funding through Fiscal Year 2031
Reverse the Trump administration’s rescissions to IRA funding and discretionary spending cuts to the IRS budget. This funding would be divided into four spending buckets and allocate funding to:
Audit wealthy taxpayers and large corporations, pursue criminal investigations, and prevent financial crimes.
Overhaul outdated technology and increase the agency’s capacity to detect fraud and noncompliance.
Fund pre-filing assistance and education, taxpayer advocacy services, and other forms of free taxpayer assistance.
The bill instructs the IRS Commissioner to issue a report to Congress on the agency’s plan to shift auditing and enforcement resources to high-income individuals and large corporations. It specifies that the plan must include efforts to recruit and retain skilled auditors for high-income individuals and large corporations that typically have complicated tax situations.
Full text of the bill is available
HERE
.
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