A push is on to try and tax net access again

[Almighty Colin]

Bush Wants IRS to Get More Money

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Internal Revenue Service enforcement activities would get a 7.8 percent, half-billion-dollar funding boost under President George W. Bush's proposed budget for next year, the Treasury said on Tuesday.

IRS commissioner Mark Everson said revenue recouped from tougher enforcement would outweigh the spending increase.

"Particularly in a time of deficit reduction, funding IRS enforcement is a wise investment," he said.

The Bush budget will ask for a $500 million increase in funds for the IRS to $6.893 billion from the $6.392 billion Congress agreed to spend on IRS enforcement in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, the Treasury Department said.

The additional money will help IRS officials examine more tax returns, collect more past-due taxes and investigate more cases of tax avoidance, the government said.

Bush has pledged to cut the budget deficit in half by 2009 from a $521 billion forecast he made in early 2004. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the 2005 budget deficit will be around $400 billion including funding for war in Iraq and Afghanistan.