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‘Death Spiral’: Treasury Department Warns It Might Not Have Enough Resources To Handle 2021 Tax Filings

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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President Joe Biden’s Treasury Department is sounding the alarm over the incoming tax season, warning that it may not have the resources to handle 2021 filings.

The IRS has delayed tax deadlines in both 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and current staffers are now complaining of a lack of funding and other resources ahead of this tax season, Axios reported Thursday. Watchdog groups have also warned Americans to expect delays in receiving their tax refunds.

“Things might be more challenging even than what we anticipate — and what we anticipate is very, very challenging,” one Treasury official told Axios.

HENDERSON, NEVADA - MAY 07: Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden jokes around as he speaks at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 16 on May 7, 2019 in Henderson, Nevada. This is Biden's first trip to the battleground state since announcing that he was seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

HENDERSON, NEVADA – MAY 07: Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden jokes around as he speaks at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 16 on May 7, 2019 in Henderson, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

An impending tax disaster would be only the latest bad news on Biden’s plate in recent weeks. The President is suffering from record-low approval ratings on the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. Biden’s legislative agenda is dead in the water in Congress, with members of his own party arguing against the spending in his Build Back Better Act as well as his push to federalize election laws.

Biden’s recent push to abolish the filibuster also hit a wall thanks to Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Yet another hammer fell last week when SCOTUS struck down Biden’s attempt to force large companies to impose a vaccine-or-test requirement on their workers. The Biden administration had sought to apply the mandate to any company with more than 100 employees, but the 6-3 majority ruling limited its scope to the healthcare industry. (RELATED: Hillary 2024 Chatter Picks Up As Biden Approval Hits New Low)

Nevertheless, Biden argued in his White House press conference on Wednesday that the first year of his presidency has gone better than anyone expected.

“I didn’t overpromise,” Biden said. “I have probably outperformed what anybody thought would happen.”

“Everything’s changing. It’s getting better. Look, I didn’t overpromise, but I think if you take a look at what we’ve been able to do, you’d have to acknowledge we made enormous progress,” he added.