A post shared on Facebook purports Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Director Charles Rettig instructed new agents to seize taxpayers’ money.

Verdict: False

The claim stems from an article published on a satire website. There is no evidence Rettig made such comments.

Fact Check:

President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act gave $80 billion to the IRS for  “increased enforcement, operational improvements [and] customer service” among other operations, according to Forbes. The money could also allow the agency to hire over 80,000 new agents, USA Today reported.

The Facebook post claims Rettig purportedly visited an orientation class of 45 new IRS agents Sept. 20 and told them they were responsible for collecting money from taxpayers and getting the agency what it is “owed.”

Rettig did not specify which tax brackets agents were to collect money from but said the agency would not target “undocumented residents,” the post purports, citing an anonymous source (RELATED: Did The IRS Hire 950 New Agents Overnight?)

The claim is baseless. There is no evidence to support the claim on the agency’s website or its verified social media pages. Likewise, there are no credible news reports to support the claim.

Rettig debunked claims that a “flood of new agents” were being employed, stating the allegations were “absolutely false,” according to Yahoo Finance. He further stated that “less than 1 [percent]” of new hires would be in the IRC Criminal Investigations department, the outlet reported.

A keyword search reveals the claim stems from a Sept. 22 article published on the website, “Real Raw News.” The website includes a disclaimer on its “About Us” page indicating it contains “humor, parody, and satire.”

Check Your Fact has contacted the IRS for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.