New Brigade of 1,000 IRS Agents to Enforce First Stage of Obamacare Implementation

Guy Benson | February 16, 2011 9:33 AM

Awesome: Hundreds upon hundreds of new agents are joining America's least favorite government agency to make sure we all comply with a mandate we don't want for a pricetag we can't afford. And that's

just stage one:

The Internal Revenue Service says it will need an battalion of 1,054 new auditors and staffers and new facilities at a cost to taxpayers of more than $359 million in fiscal 2012 just to watch over the initial implementation of President Obama's healthcare reforms. Among the new corps will be 81 workers assigned to make sure tanning salons pay a new 10 percent excise tax. Their cost: $11.5 million.
In its request, the IRS explained that the tax changes associated with health reform are huge. "Implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 presents a major challenge to the IRS. ACA represents the largest set of tax law changes in more than 20 years, with more than 40 provisions that amend the tax laws."

Unsaid: The requests are just the beginning, since the new healthcare program is evolving and won't be fully implemented until about 2014.

Given what an unmitigated debacle Obamacare has already become, I'm slightly surprised that only 57 percent of the public favors repeal.