On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service revealed that Black taxpayers are audited at a higher rate than expected based on their minority share of the U.S. population, per the New York Times.
After performing an internal investigation, the IRS wrote, “Black Americans are up to five times more likely to have their federal tax returns audited” in comparison to other races.
These findings were announced after lawmakers ordered a review of the federal agency audit process pertaining to African American taxpayers.
IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel wrote a letter to U.S. Senate saying, “[O]ur initial findings support the conclusion that Black taxpayers may be audited at higher rates than would be expected given their share of the population.”
He continued, “The IRS, which received $80 billion in funding through the Inflation Reduction Act, plans to use some of that money to ‘understand any potential systemic bias in compliance strategies and treatments.’”
Officials have called for change after the Commissioners’ statement about the situation.
New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. took to his Twitter, penning, “Back in March, my colleagues and I raised alarms to the new IRS boss about Black taxpayers being over-audited, and today he confirmed our suspicions,” he penned.
Adding, “The IRS is making strides, but extra audits of Black Americans is disgraceful and must end.”
He attached a three-page document of letter written to Werfel stating his concerns about IRS wrongful doings.
IRS will undergo evaluations to review the processes that determine the source of racial inequality in the system.
