Yellen says IRS 'under siege', needs US$80bil to beef up tax work

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a Senate Finance Commmittee hearing on President Biden's 2023 budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 7, 2022. REUTERS

WASHINGTON: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged Congress to approve US$80 billion in funding for the Internal Revenue Service to help the agency reduce a huge backlog of tax returns and allow it to go after $600 billion in unpaid tax bills.

"The IRS is under siege. It is suffering from huge underinvestment," Yellen told a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Treasury's budget request for fiscal 2023.