Amidst growing inflation and recession, the last thing Americans want to hear is the idea of expanding the IRS. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has done just that. While such an unwelcome move has garnered plenty of criticism, the state of Florida has decided to actually do something about it. On Monday, Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis outlines how the state of Florida will stand against a recently-expanded IRS.
Appearing on Fox Business's Cavuto: Coast to Coast, Patronis states that, "they didn't go create new taxes, they're just gonna go after everybody they possibly can." As such, this new measure will disproportionately affect small businesses, whom Patronis cites as the largest job creators in the United States. Show host David Asman similarly points out that corporations and larger businesses will be effectively immune, due to having lawyers and lobbyists who can influence Washington that small businesses lack.
Therefore, Patronis describes four means of protecting small businesses in Florida from the wrath of the IRS. First, all Florida chartered banks will report audits. Second, Florida will require all IRS agents be licensed, "so we know who they are." Third, a fund will be established as a "defense mechanism" for individuals made to pay unfair fees. This third proposition ties into the fourth: criminal charges will be created for IRS agents targeting political enemies. "If we see the same thing we saw in 2013, where they targeted Tea Party groups, where they admitted they targeted Tea Party groups... we've got to go after them."
Asman points out that federal law supersedes state law, and asks if Patronis would be willing to go to court over Florida's defiance towards the IRS. Patronis states that "it's the right fight to have."
Monday afternoon, Patronis tweeted a shortened version of the segment, shown here.
We are going to protect Floridians from @JoeBiden's supersized IRS by requiring state chartered banks to report audits and IRS agents to be licensed. We'll also create defense mechanism for those being persecuted and prosecute if Floridians were targeted for beliefs/affiliations. pic.twitter.com/m6Hl3ywou2
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) August 15, 2022
"We are going to protect Floridians from @JoeBiden's supersized IRS by requiring state chartered banks to report audits and IRS agents to be licensed. We'll also create defense mechanism for those being persecuted and prosecute if Floridians were targeted for beliefs/affiliations," Patronis' tweet reads.
