An audit revealed that many Internal Revenue Service employees who intentionally cheated on their taxes remain employed, with only 20 out of 70 being fired from 2021 to 2023, while the IRS rehired nearly 400 former employees with problematic records, leading to criticism and proposed legislation for stricter hiring practices and employee reviews.
Internal Revenue Service Employees With Tax Evasion Still on the Job; New Legislation Proposed
According to the report of The Washington Times, an audit found that many Internal Revenue Service employees who have intentionally cheated on their taxes are still working at the agency. From 2021 to 2023, 70 employees were caught cheating, but only 20 were fired. The others got short suspensions or kept their jobs. The law says these employees should be removed unless they get special permission from the IRS commissioner.
The Internal Revenue Service also rehired nearly 400 former employees who had red flags in their records, like tax evasion or accessing private taxpayer information. This has led to criticism from lawmakers, such as Sen. Joni Ernst, who has proposed a law to stop the Internal Revenue Service from hiring people with serious tax debts and to require yearly reviews of Internal Revenue Service employees.
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70 Internal Revenue Service Employees Caught Cheating on Taxes, Only 20 Fired: Whistleblower Reveals Widespread Incompetence (PHOTO: The CPA Journal)
Internal Revenue Service Faces Criticism for Lenient Handling of Tax-Evading Employees
The Internal Revenue Service says it has rules to handle employee tax issues and uses “progressive discipline” to deal with offenses. However, critics argue that being too lenient with tax-evading employees makes it hard for the Internal Revenue Service to enforce tax laws on everyone else.
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