Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act

The Simplify, Don’t Amplify the IRS Act (S. 4046) proposes several changes to how the Internal Revenue Service operates, focusing on taxpayer privacy and agency transparency. If passed, the bill would increase criminal penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of private taxpayer information and raise the income threshold for small religious and charitable organizations required to file annual reports.

The legislation also aims to modernize tax collection by requiring the IRS to use artificial intelligence to estimate the "tax gap"—the difference between taxes owed and taxes actually paid. Additionally, it would temporarily restrict funding for new IRS audits and enforcement actions until the agency provides updated public reports on these tax gap projections.