During Tax Oversight Panel, Kelly Warns of Millions of Americans Waiting on Refunds, EIPs, Employee Retention Credits

Washington, D.C. - Millions of Americans are still waiting for the IRS to process their 2019 tax returns, missing stimulus checks, and other program benefits because of the pandemic. Now, the Democrats' $1.9 trillion spending package has placed an even bigger burden on the agency as we enter the 2021 tax filing season.

U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee's Oversight Subcommittee, expressed concern about this backlog during today's hearing with IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.

Video of his opening statement

Key Excerpts

"It's my understanding that 2.2 million individual returns and 4.4 million business returns received last year that are still waiting to start processing and millions more remain in the processing pipeline due to the error resolutions and other issues."

"Given that this backlog may not be resolved until well into this year, I'm concerned about the agency's ability to handle last year's backlog while also having to work through another difficult filing season this year."

"The IRS budget was increased $400 million for fiscal year 2021 and in the last year the IRS has received an additional $3.1 billion in appropriations through the COVID relief bills and the Democrats' partisan bill. I know every agency would like as much funding as they can get, but it's also clear to me the challenges the IRS faces right now will not be solved with just more money."

"I have concerns about the employee retention tax credit and whether money is actually reaching the business owners it was intended to help. It's my understanding that millions of business owners filed the forms required for this credit and are still waiting for their refunds. Some of these forms date back to April of 2020. These folks can't wait that long."

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