I think it’s because it’s a stealth tax cut. It might be able to win the political argument for lowering taxes, but by cutting funding for enforcement, you’re e

I think it’s because it’s a stealth tax cut. It might be able to win the political argument for lowering taxes, but by cutting funding for enforcement, you’re encouraging scofflaws and thus get the unpopular outcome you desired without having to go on television and defend it. A similar thing plays out when politicians want to cut popular social programs. They manufacture a budget crisis (typically through instituting a popular tax cut) and then solve the crisis by cutting the funding to the thing they already decided they didn’t like.