Fact checking Sam Graves

We engineers are attracted to problem solving; therefore, I read opinion pages as an erstwhile fact checker.

One frequent challenge is attempting to complete a partial representation; i.e., assess an opinion presented with partial information.

For example, Congressman Sam Graves opened last week’s column criticizing President Biden’s desire to add 87,000 new IRS agents to “audit and investigate American workers and small businesses ─ liberals in Congress gave him the power to do this.” He supports this claim, adding “they claim this is just to make sure some billionaires are paying their fair share in taxes.”

A bit of fact checking reveals the slant on this opinion. First, he asserts there are only 600 billionaires when several sources identify more than 700. That the purpose is to “investigate workers and small businesses is in error. Actually the purpose is to give the IRS the resources to recover an estimated one trillion dollars — $1,000,000,000,000 — in uncollected taxes due to inaccurate and fraudulent filings.

Suggesting the IRS is a predatory government agency is reinforced by biased opinions of those who see legitimate government regulations as invasive. They are not. Yes, an IRS audit can be tense. The first year I filed a tax return for my small business the IRS requested an audit. I arrived with my records, the agent audited them, asking questions throughout, coming to the conclusion that I had overpaid my taxes by $80 which was sent to me by check.

Gordon Hill

Maryville