Trump’s Treasury pick Bessent won’t discriminate on tax cheats, vows fairness

President-elect Trump’s treasury secretary nominee told senators during his confirmation hearing on Thursday that he will look to crack down on tax cheats, whether they’re wealthy or not.

Scott Bessent, the CEO of Key Square Group who Trump nominated to serve as treasury secretary, testified before the Senate Finance Committee and was pressed on whether he would work to step up audits of wealthy taxpayers. If confirmed, Bessent would lead the Treasury Department, of which the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a subagency.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Senate Finance Committee ranking member, noted that while technological developments like artificial intelligence (AI) may help with tax oversight, the agency will need resources that he says have been lacking in the past and as a result hampered prior efforts to step up audits of wealthy taxpayers.

“What you’ve seen because we don’t have the resources to go after the wealthy tax cheats, people who use the Earned Income Tax Credit or something – they’re the ones who get the audits and the like,” Wyden said. “And I want to see, in this position, somebody make a commitment to making sure we’ll have the resources to go after wealthy tax cheats who have this unique kind of system.” 

TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE SCOTT BESSENT TO MAKE CALL TO ACTION DURING HEARING: ‘GENERATIONAL OPPORTUNITY’

“And I would acknowledge your point that certainly it’s going to be a challenge in the years ahead with respect to AI and other technologies, but we’re still going to need resources,” Wyden added.

“If confirmed, I will come back to you with a plan for upping collections,” Bessent replied.

That prompted Wyden to follow-up by asking, “On wealthy tax cheats?”

“You seem to believe that the wealthy cheat more, but I think across the entire income spectrum,” Bessent said. 

“You’re saying that the wealthy have this special cache, but if there is some large mother lode there, then to figure out how to crack that – whether it’s through AI or some other means – that I will commit to coming back to you,” Bessent said.

TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE SCOTT BESSENT’S ‘3-3-3’ PLAN: WHAT TO KNOW

Wyden noted that Trump’s IRS commissioner from his first term testified that the agency needed additional multi-year funding because it was “outgunned when it came to auditing wealthy individuals and large corporations.” 

“The view that I have stated today is not just one that I offer, but one that a former Trump appointee said specifically that the agency was outgunned with respect to resources. You’ve indicated that you’ll continue the discussion, it’s an important one,” Wyden said to Bessent.