Mr. Trump has said he plans to nominate Billy Long, a former Republican congressman, to the role.According to The New York Times, Daniel Werfel, the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has announced that he will be stepping down from his position on Monday, ahead of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration. Mr. Trump has stated that he plans to nominate Billy Long, a former Republican congressman, to take over the role.
Traditionally, the position of IRS commissioner has been treated as a nonpartisan job that continues between administrations of different parties. However, with the change in leadership, Mr. Werfel has decided to end his term early in order to support the next administration. He will be replaced by Douglas O’Donnell, a career civil servant at the IRS who currently holds the No. 2 position.
In a message to employees, Mr. Werfel expressed his confidence in the civil servant leaders and employees at the IRS to effectively lead the organization until a new commissioner is confirmed. The IRS, with its 80,000 employees, plays a crucial role in the federal government by collecting nearly $5 trillion in tax revenue each year. In recent years, the agency has received billions in new funding from Democrats to improve tax collection for wealthy Americans and update its outdated technology systems.
However, the IRS has long been a target for Republicans, who view it as a political tool for Democrats. Mr. Long, Mr. Trump’s nominee for the position, has limited tax experience and is known for promoting a pandemic-era tax credit for small businesses that the IRS has been trying to shut down due to abuse. Republicans have already canceled $20 billion of the $80 billion in funding proposed by Democrats for the IRS, and have frozen an additional $20 billion.
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