The Pentagon can’t Pass an Audit but the IRS ‘Needs’ You to Report Every Venmo Transaction Over $600
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) agency financial report for 2022 shows the hilarious hypocrisy of the federal government’s attitude towards spending.
According to the report, the Defense Department failed its annual audit, marking the fifth consecutive year that the DOD has failed to account for all its assets. Since 2017, an independent financial audit has been implemented to hold the Pentagon accountable for the ambiguity of military spending. But throughout those five years since the audit was enacted, the DOD has failed each time.
According to The Hill:
“After 1,600 auditors combed through DOD’s $3.5 trillion in assets and $3.7 trillion in liabilities, officials found that the department couldn’t account for about 61 percent of its assets, Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord told reporters on Tuesday.”
The Hill
The Pentagon’s inability to pass its audit came as no surprise to DOD officials. However, Pentagon officials argue that progress is “being made” to have more transparency on where the taxpayer dollars for defense are actually going.
The same government that can’t account for trillions of dollars in spending is now cracking down on the average American. The IRS recently reminded taxpayers that beginning in 2023, they will need to report earnings from third-party facilitators such as Venmo and PayPal if transactions exceed $600.
“Before 2022, the federal Form 1099-K reporting threshold was for taxpayers with more than 200 transactions worth an aggregate above $20,000. However, Congress slashed the limit as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and a single transaction over $600 may now trigger the form.”
CNBC
So while the DOD can’t keep track of 61 percent of funds, but the government is still going to be more strict when monitoring the average transactions of everyday Americans.
