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Taxpayer behavior has changed since President Donald Trump took office and implemented sweeping federal cuts through Elon Musk’s DOGE. As a result, the IRS has “noticed an uptick of online chatter from individuals declaring their intention to not pay taxes this year,” the Washington Post reports, citing three people with knowledge of tax projections.

It added that individuals were “wagering that auditors will not examine their accounts” amid DOGE’s plans to downsize the IRS by nearly 20 percent by May 15.

IRS officials reportedly tried to warn the incoming Trump administration about DOGE’s planned staffing cuts in January. “Aggressive reductions to budget and personnel capacity risk backlogs, delays, reduced receipts, and diminished capacity to build next generation digital capabilities,” a presentation seen by the Post given by tax officials to Trump’s incoming Treasury Department team said.

There could be other factors at play contributing to the possible drop in revenue, including the Los Angeles wildfires. Taxpayers in wealthy areas affected by the fires could postpone filing until October, Timur Taluy, CEO of tax-prep service FileYourTaxes.com, told the Post. Some taxpayers may also opt for a penalty-free six-month filing extension during times of economic uncertainty.

Neither of these account for the $500 billion drop in revenue, however, experts told the newspaper.

Lawmakers are trying to repeal Section 230 again

From article:

Congress’ least favorite law is once against facing an existential challenge by bipartisan opponents.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, are planning to reintroduce a bill to sunset Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in two years. Repealing the bill, first reported by The Information, would remove protections that web services and users have enjoyed since the 1990s, which underpins much of the way the internet as we know it today works. It’s a proposal Graham has been trying to advance since 2020, and his spokesperson, Taylor Reidy, confirms a reintroduction is “in the works.”

Section 230 shields any “interactive computer service” or its users from legal liability for speech that was produced by someone else — making it possible for social media platforms, as well as blogs and even listserv operators, to moderate content without fearing lengthy litigation over each decision. But critics have argued that it either reduces the incentives for large social networks to police illegal content like abuse and harassment, or, conversely, that it gives these platforms too much freedom to remove content that’s not illegal.

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Of course they squeeze in attacking the internet during this chaotic time, because what’s congress if not nonsensical?