FRB Vice Managing Partner Matthew Rappaport Quoted in The Wall Street Journal

Falcon Rappaport & Berkman is proud to share that Vice-Managing Partner Matthew E. Rappaport was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article by reporter Richard Rubin, "America's New Tax Mantra: 'The IRS Isn't Going to Catch Me,’" an in-depth examination of the effects of declining IRS enforcement on taxpayer behavior and the broader tax compliance landscape.  

The article details a significant retrenchment in IRS enforcement under the current administration, reporting that the agency has shed more than 25,000 employees since January 2025. This number includes roughly a quarter of its auditors, and that its enforcement workforce may fall below 30,000 under the proposed fiscal 2027 budget.  

Against that backdrop, Matthew offered one of the article’s most direct assessments: "They have defunded the police," he told the Journal. "There's no more succinct way to describe what's happened." His comment helped anchor a central theme of the piece: that the rapid erosion of enforcement capacity is contributing to a growing sense among taxpayers that the government lacks the resources to challenge noncompliance.  

The Journal's reporting underscores the scale of the pullback. Audits of individuals with at least $10 million in income dropped 9% last year and are on track to decline another 39% this year. Inflation-adjusted spending on tax enforcement is the lowest it has been in at least 20 years. Nonpartisan analysis from The Budget Lab at Yale estimates that IRS workforce reductions to date could reduce revenue collections by $643 billion over the next decade.  

The article also addresses the difficulty of rebuilding enforcement capacity once it is gone. Matthew drove that point home: "They've taken the federal government by the plastic dinosaur tail and mashed it 'til its head came off," he said. His remarks reinforced warnings from other experts in the piece that the consequences of a weakened IRS will extend well beyond the present moment.  

Matthew's inclusion alongside former IRS leadership reflects his deep expertise on tax enforcement issues and his ability to communicate the real-world implications of policy changes in clear, practical terms. 

To learn more about how these developments may affect you, your business, or your planning strategies, contact our Taxation attorneys. Our team advises clients on a wide range of complex federal, state, and local tax matters and is available to help navigate an evolving enforcement and compliance landscape.