Important Takeaways:
- Congress revoked an additional $20 billion from the Internal Revenue Service last week when lawmakers averted a government shutdown, a cut that may undo many of President Joe Biden’s efforts to improve customer service at the tax agency and train fresh scrutiny on wealthy tax cheats.
- Biden and congressional Democrats gave the IRS $80 billion in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, but Congress rescinded $20 billion as part of a 2023 budget deal. Shortly afterward, Republicans vowed they’d be back for more IRS cuts.
- And because of the way lawmakers extended government funding into March, an additional $20 billion in cuts came automatically.
- When Congress approved a stopgap funding bill, called a continuing resolution, all the existing policy from the previous fiscal year was carried forward unless new text was specifically added to the bill to change it.
- There was no language in the bill to undo last year’s cut, so it repeated in the new law.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Revelations 13:14 “…by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth…”
Important Takeaways:
- CEO FIRES 90 PERCENT OF SUPPORT STAFF, SAYING AI OUTPERFORMS THEM
- Suumit Shah, a 31-year-old CEO of an e-commerce platform called Dukaan based in India, is getting torn to shreds online for firing 90 percent of the company’s customer support staff after arguing that an AI chatbot had outperformed them.
- “We had to layoff [sic] 90 percent of our support team because of this AI chatbot,” he tweeted. “Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely.”
- In a lengthy Twitter thread laden with screenshots from action movies such as “iRobot” and “Limitless,” Shah argued that response times plummeted from over two hours to less than two minutes thanks to the AI chatbot.
- Shah, however, told Insider that he had no choice — though he did say he regretted posting about the layoffs on social media.
- “Over time, everybody will start doing this,” he said. “It’s not just us. Maybe I’m just too straightforward to have put it on Twitter.”
Read the original article by clicking here.
With the tax season about to begin and many people concerned about the way they have to handle Affordable Care Act changes, the IRS is making it more difficult for taxpayers to obtain help.
A report from the IRS blames Congress for budget cuts.
The official who represents taxpayers within the IRS, Nina Olson, warns that customer service will be at an all time low with less help on the phone, less help with tax preparation, and more obstacles when disputing an IRS mistake.
“I think that for taxpayers they will not be able to get assistance from the IRS; they will not get their questions answered,” Olson stated.
The IRS has refused to answer questions about what the IRS considers helplines for taxpayers.
