Pascrell Opening Statement at Oversight Subcommittee Hearing

(As prepared for delivery)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to first recognize and welcome Mrs. Linda Czipo, the President and CEO of the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits. We have worked closely together over many years. I appreciate your testimony and being here today.

The Employee Retention Tax Credit was vital to keeping America’s small businesses and nonprofits afloat during the pandemic. 

This relief was especially crucial in New Jersey where the virus struck early. Our state’s nonprofits worked tirelessly on the frontlines of pandemic response and recovery.  

We all want to ensure the ERTC gets out the door to employers who need it most. But we need to get to the heart of the issue: resources. 

Decades of Republican sabotage destroyed the IRS’s ability to serve taxpayers and enforce the law.   

The historic funding enacted by Democrats has revitalized the IRS. Americans are finally getting their calls answered and their refund checks on time. 

I want to remind people: every Republican in Congress voted against making tax time easier. 

Like the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, this filing season was one of our most successful in years. 

Under fresh leadership, the IRS has made enormous progress. Call wait times were slashed to under five minutes. The backlog of returns was finally cleared.

Now, the IRS is using the same playbook to tackle ERTC claims. In the past two months, we have seen nearly half-a-million refunds processed. Over 99% of claims are now less than three months old. 

Most ERTC claims are filed on paper and processed by hand. So, the IRS wisely directed IRA funding toward electronic filing and automated processing.

Bringing tax administration into the 21st century means quicker refunds and fewer errors. 

We know bad actors target the ERTC. The IRS is already seeking criminal charges and recovering billions in stolen money. 

With the backlog cleared, the IRS is redoubling these efforts with additional auditors.

Wealthy tax cheats have operated with impunity for years. Thanks to the IRA, the IRS is finally able to pursue fair enforcement by collecting what they owe. 

Every dollar spent on enforcement pays for itself and then some. But Republicans continue to try and gut these efforts.

Republicans even risked economic catastrophe to erase funds to audit wealthy tax cheats for heavens sakes.  

This sabotage risks our progress toward a functional tax system. It undermines the very efforts we’re discussing to administer the ERTC. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.