The business section of the Jan. 6 Butler Eagle included an Associated Press article headlined “IRS audits rich more.”

The main idea of the article is that the odds of a person making more than $1 million a year being audited are increasing. Last year, 12 percent of millionaire earners were audited, and 4 percent of those making more than $200,000 were audited.

And, about 1 percent of those making less than $200,000 were audited.

So far, so good; I’m just repeating the facts.

But then the article goes on to quote the deputy IRS commissioner for services and enforcement as saying the higher audit rates for the highest-earning individuals are designed to “assure that those at the lower end of the spectrum know that those at the higher end of the spectrum are subject to the same rules and enforcement as everyone else.”

I find it stunning that, with a straight face, the commissioner acknowledges that the rich have higher audit rates and then tells us that they are subject to the same enforcement as everyone else. It sounds to me like the rich are subject to a greater level of enforcement.

And, the rationale for the higher audit rate is to assure the lower earners that the rich are subject to the same rules and enforcement. Huh?

I thought the IRS’ job was to collect taxes, not to make the middle class feel good that the IRS is sticking it to the rich.

When reading the article, I had to re-read the paragraph three times before coming to the conclusion that this double talk by a bureaucrat could only be intended to appeal to the 99 Percent movement.

The article went on to quote an IRS spokeswoman as saying, “We base our audit decisions on tax issues, nothing else. We don’t play politics here.”

It scares me that the IRS is even trying to say that stuff. It scares me that the AP reporters gobbled it up without question.

Meanwhile, it scares me that the media, including the Butler Eagle, dutifully report it.

Maybe the average American is dumbed down enough to believe it? I hope not.

First off, shame on the IRS for trying to buffalo the public. And, shame on the AP for reporting this without question. It should have had a couple paragraphs discussing the attempted spin and the political implications.

Just because some spokeswoman says it is not based on politics doesn’t make it so. In fact, that is as much the story as the increased audit rates for the rich.

Shame on the Eagle for publishing this propaganda. I realize that for national news, our local paper has to rely on syndicated reporting, but please read and reflect on this stuff first.

If it’s garbage, don’t publish it. Tell the AP when it is falling short of journalistic standards.

Or, seek out other, less-biased sources of national news.