A conservative legal group, the America First Legal Foundation, has accused the Biden administration of using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to unfairly target white, Asian, and mixed-race taxpayers. Fox News Digital reported that the AFL claims that the administration plans to change the IRS’s audit algorithms to discriminate based on race under the guise of promoting “racial equity.” The AFL alleges that the IRS will restructure its auditing practices to unfairly target certain racial groups.
“The administration plans to change the IRS’s audit algorithms to discriminate based on race under the guise of promoting racial equity.”
The AFL’s claims stem from an executive order signed by Biden in 2021 titled “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” The order aims to create a “whole-of-government approach to equity” by prioritizing equity in federal programs and services. However, the AFL believes that this order is being used to justify racial discrimination in the IRS’s auditing practices.
In a move that could have far-reaching implications, President Biden has issued yet another executive order aimed at advancing racial equity and addressing systemic discrimination in the United States. The order, entitled “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” is a continuation of the administration’s efforts to promote equity and inclusion.
Under the new order, all federal agencies are required to develop an annual “equity action plan” aimed at removing barriers and increasing engagement in historically underserved communities. The order specifically directs federal agencies to take action to prevent and remedy discrimination, including through measures designed to protect the public from algorithmic discrimination.
While the order has been welcomed by some as a positive step towards addressing systemic inequalities in the United States, others have expressed concerns about the potential impact on certain groups, including white, Asian, and mixed-race taxpayers. Conservative legal group America First Legal Foundation has accused the administration of using the order to alter the Internal Revenue Service’s audit algorithms in order to target certain groups of taxpayers, allegations that the Biden administration has denied.
Conservative legal group America First Legal Foundation is claiming that the Treasury Department is illegally utilizing racial quotas and imputed race and ethnicity data to operationalize racial equity in the IRS’s audit algorithms. The AFL alleges that the Biden administration’s executive order titled “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government” is the driving force behind this discriminatory action, and the organization is calling for transparency in the matter.
As part of their effort to reveal the truth behind the allegations, AFL filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking for communication records from specific individuals at the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other senior officials, from January 2021 onward. The request seeks communication that references keywords such as “discrimination,” “race,” “ethnicity,” “color,” “BIPOC,” “Asian,” “Indigenous,” “Black,” “Brown,” or “White” on one hand, and “audit,” “enforcement,” “NRP,” “RAAS,” “algorithmic,” “selection,” “sampling,” or “strata” on the other.
The AFL argues that their request is necessary to prevent the Treasury Department from illegally instituting racial quotas and discriminatory practices in the IRS’s audit algorithms, potentially leading to targeting taxpayers by race. The conservative legal group’s efforts to bring transparency and accountability to the matter reflect their commitment to upholding the law and the rights of all taxpayers, regardless of race or ethnicity.
