In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Part of the legislation was to expand the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with 80,000 new agents to go after “tax cheats” and find new ways to raise revenue for the federal government. Self-employed workers and contractors must report if transactions went over $600 through third-party payment platforms such as Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle. These are now to be reported to the IRS.
So now the State CFO’s office has created a new agency dubbed “Florida Tax Advocate” for small business owners targeted by the IRS.
The agency within the CFO’s office will give Florida taxpayers a seat at the table when IRS issues arise. Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis says when taxpayers are treated unfairly this legislation will identify agents who are harassing Floridians. Additionally, this legislation will also empower users of third-party payment processors (like PayPal and Venmo) to avoid wrongfully paying taxes on certain transactions the IRS is targeting.
Patronis said when the legislation was passed in 2022, his office received calls asking what the state could do if certain business vendors believed they were being unfairly targeted by the IRS.
The CFO believes many Florida small businesses could see audits that are politically motivated by the IRS.
In September 2023, a Florida publication published an article titled “CFO Jimmy Patronis continues his attacks on the IRS.”
But Patronis says it’s the other way around. He wants to create penalties for those who go after Floridians in such an unethical and illegal manner.
“In 2022, the federal government went too far in targeting taxpayers by expanding the IRS. That’s why we worked with the legislature this year to create the Florida Tax Advocate to give Floridians a fighter in their corner when the IRS comes knocking. We won’t let Florida’s families and businesses be shaken down to fund Washington’s spending problems, and when taxpayers are treated unfairly, this legislation will help hold the IRS accountable. We are putting Washington on notice that the State of Florida is watching, and we will fight for our taxpayers,” said Patronis.”
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