While the agency has long maintained that its enforcement efforts are focused on large corporations and the ultra-wealthy, the truth is that small businesses and middle-class families bear the brunt of its actions. SEN RICK SCOTT, REP BYRON DONALDS: TRUMP AND BESSENT'S IRS REFORM: LET’S END JOB-KILLING POLICIESTime and again, IRS audits fall disproportionately on small businesses and individuals making less than $400,000 a year. Larger corporations can afford to absorb the burden of lengthy audits, but for a small business, an audit can be devastating. A 2023 Government Accountability Office report revealed that more than 90 percent of audits are against middle-class families and small businesses under the $400,000 threshold. Independent appeals processes must be strengthened so that small businesses can contest government overreach without going bankrupt in the process.