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| Employees are also required to report certain misconduct to [[Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration|TIGTA]]. Federal law prohibits reprisal or retaliation against an employee who reports wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://treas.gov/tigta/about_what.shtml | title = What is TIGTA | date = December 11, 2014 | work = Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration | publisher = [[U.S. Department of the Treasury]] | access-date=October 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.opm.gov/ovrsight/proidx.asp |title=§ 2302. Prohibited personnel practices |publisher=U.S. Office of Personnel Management |access-date=March 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rajesh |first=Reddy |date=February 19, 2016 |title=Tax services |url=https://pumpkintaxco.com/ai-powered-bookkeepig/ |website=Federal Register}}</ref> | | Employees are also required to report certain misconduct to [[Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration|TIGTA]]. Federal law prohibits reprisal or retaliation against an employee who reports wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://treas.gov/tigta/about_what.shtml | title = What is TIGTA | date = December 11, 2014 | work = Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration | publisher = [[U.S. Department of the Treasury]] | access-date=October 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.opm.gov/ovrsight/proidx.asp |title=§ 2302. Prohibited personnel practices |publisher=U.S. Office of Personnel Management |access-date=March 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rajesh |first=Reddy |date=February 19, 2016 |title=Tax services |url=https://pumpkintaxco.com/ai-powered-bookkeepig/ |website=Federal Register}}</ref> |
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| ==Controversies==
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| {{see also|List of allegations of misuse of the Internal Revenue Service}}
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| The IRS has been accused of abusive behavior on multiple occasions.<ref name="witness">{{cite web|url=http://enzi.senate.gov/anon1.htm|title=Prepared Statement Of Witness Before The Senate Finance Committee Oversight Hearing On The Internal Revenue Service|access-date=June 17, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070729045147/http://enzi.senate.gov/anon1.htm<!--bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date = July 29, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/~finance/davis.htm|last=Davis|first=Robert Edwin|title=Statement before the Senate Committee on Finance|access-date=June 17, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070209113627/https://www.senate.gov/~finance/davis.htm<!--bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date = February 9, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/~enzi/schrieb.htm |last=Schriebman |first=Robert |title=Prepared Statement of Robert S. Schrieman Before the Senate Finance Committee|access-date=June 17, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071018072341/http://senate.gov/~enzi/schrieb.htm<!--bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date = October 18, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/~enzi/davis.htm|last=Davis|first=Shelley L.|title=Prepared Statement of Shelley L. Davis Before the Senate Finance Committee Oversight Hearing On The Internal Revenue Service|date=September 23, 1997|access-date=June 17, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070505104053/https://www.senate.gov/~enzi/davis.htm<!--bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date = May 5, 2007}}</ref> Testimony was given before a Senate subcommittee that focused on cases of overly aggressive IRS collection tactics in considering a need for legislation to give taxpayers greater protection in disputes with the agency.
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| Congress passed the [[Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998|Taxpayer Bill of Rights III]] on July 22, 1998, which shifted the [[Burden of proof (law)|burden of proof]] from the taxpayer to the IRS in certain limited situations. The IRS retains the legal authority to enforce liens and seize assets without obtaining judgment in court.<ref>See {{usc|26|6331}}. For case law on section 6331, see ''Brian v. Gugin'', 853 F. Supp. 358, 94–1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,278 (D. Idaho 1994), ''aff'd'', 95-1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) paragr. 50,067 (9th Cir. 1995).</ref>
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| In 2002, the IRS accused James and Pamela Moran, as well as several others, of conspiracy, filing false tax returns and mail fraud as part of the Anderson Ark investment scheme. The Morans were eventually acquitted, and their attorney stated that the government should have realized that the couple was merely duped by those running the scheme.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/couple-acquitted-of-tax-fraud/|title=Couple acquitted of tax fraud|date=2008-01-04|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=2017-11-16|language=en-US}}</ref>
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| In 2004, the law licenses of two former IRS lawyers were suspended after a federal court ruled that they defrauded the courts so the IRS could win a sum in tax shelter cases.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/21/business/2-ex-irs-lawyers-licenses-suspended-for-misconduct.html|title=2 Ex-I.R.S. Lawyers' Licenses Suspended for Misconduct|last=Johnston|first=David Cay|date=2004-08-21|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-11-16|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
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| In 2013, the Internal Revenue Service became embroiled in a [[IRS targeting controversy|political scandal]] in which it was discovered that the agency subjected [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] or conservative-sounding groups filing for tax-exempt status to extra scrutiny,<ref name="washingtonpost1">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-denounces-reported-irs-targeting-of-conservative-groups/2013/05/13/a0185644-bbdf-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_print.html |title=IRS officials in Washington were involved in targeting of conservative groups |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 15, 2013}}</ref> though liberal groups were also targeted.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/us/politics/irs-tea-party-lawsuit-settlement.html |title=Justice Department Settles With Tea Party Groups After I.R.S. Scrutiny |last=Cochrane |first=Emily |date=October 26, 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref>
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| On September 5, 2014, 16 months after the scandal first erupted, a Senate Subcommittee released a report that confirmed that Internal Revenue Service used inappropriate criteria to target Tea Party groups, but found no evidence of political bias.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Korte|first1=Gregory|title=Senate subcommittee: No political bias in IRS targeting|website=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/05/senate-subcommittee-report-on-irs-tea-party-targeting/15130715/|access-date=September 10, 2014}}</ref> The chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations confirmed that while the actions were "inappropriate, intrusive, and burdensome", the Democrats have often experienced similar treatment.<ref>{{cite web|last1=The Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations|title=RS and TIGTA Management Failures Related to 501(c)(4) Applicants Engaged in Campaign Activity|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1283995-report-irs-amp-tigta-mgmt-failures-related-to.html|access-date=September 10, 2014}}</ref> Republicans noted that 83% of the groups being held up by the IRS were right-leaning; and the Subcommittee Minority staff, which did not join the Majority staff report, filed a dissenting report entitled, "IRS Targeting Tea Party Groups".<ref>{{cite web|last1=The Subcommittee Minority|title=IRS Targeting Tea Party Groups|url=http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/8dd561cf-d44b-469d-9657-ddf428778cf5/psi-report---irs-tigta-mgmt-failures-related-to-501-c-4---minority-dissenting-views.pdf|access-date=September 10, 2014}}</ref>
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| On May 25, 2015, the agency announced that over several months criminals had accessed the private tax information of more than 100,000 taxpayers and stolen about $50{{spaces}}million in fraudulent returns.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Kaveh|last1=Waddell|access-date=2020-11-22|title=The IRS Hack Was Twice as Bad as We Thought|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/02/the-irs-hack-was-twice-as-bad-as-we-thought/471255/|date=26 February 2016|website=The Atlantic}}</ref> By providing Social Security numbers and other information obtained from prior computer crimes, the criminals were able to use the IRS's online "Get Transcript" function to have the IRS provide them with the tax returns and other private information of American tax filers.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Steinberg|first1=Joseph |title=IRS Leaked Over 100,000 Taxpayers' Private Info To Criminals: What You Need |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephsteinberg/2015/05/26/irs-leaked-over-100000-taxpayers-info-to-criminals-what-you-need-to-know/|access-date=May 27, 2015|work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> On August 17, 2015, IRS disclosed that the breach had compromised an additional 220,000 taxpayer records.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weise |first=Elizabeth |title=IRS hack far larger than first thought |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/08/17/irs-hack-get-transcript/31864171/ |publisher=USA Today |access-date=August 17, 2015 |date=August 17, 2015 }}</ref> On February 27, 2016, the IRS disclosed that more than 700,000 Social Security numbers and other sensitive information had been stolen.<ref>{{cite news |title=Massive IRS data breach much bigger than first thought |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/irs-identity-theft-online-hackers-social-security-number-get-transcript/ |publisher=[[CBS News]] |access-date=April 18, 2016 |date=April 18, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=2020-11-22|title=Hack Brief: Last Year's IRS Hack Was Way Worse Than We Realized|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/02/irs-hack-700000-accounts/|newspaper=Wired|issn=1059-1028 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Kevin|last1=McCoy|access-date=2020-11-22|title=Cyber hack got access to over 700,000 IRS accounts|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/02/26/cyber-hack-gained-access-more-than-700000-irs-accounts/80992822/|website=USA TODAY}}</ref>
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| The Internal Revenue Service has been the subject of frequent criticism by many elected officials and candidates for political office, including some who have called to abolish the IRS. Among them were [[Ted Cruz]], [[Rand Paul]], [[Ben Carson]], [[Mike Huckabee]], and [[Richard Lugar]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A world with no IRS? Really |publisher=[[CNN Money]] |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/11/04/pf/taxes/abolish-the-irs/|access-date=February 11, 2020 |date=November 4, 2015 }}</ref> In 1998, a Republican congressman introduced a bill to repeal the Internal Revenue Code by 2002.<ref>{{cite web|title=How the IRS Was Gutted |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-irs-was-gutted |publisher=[[ProPublica]] |access-date=February 11, 2020 |date=December 11, 2018 }}</ref> In 2016, The [[Republican Study Committee]], which counts over two-thirds of House of Representatives Republicans as its members, called for "the complete elimination of the IRS", and Republican Representative [[Rob Woodall]] of Georgia has introduced a bill every year since he entered Congress in 2011 to eliminate income taxes and abolish the IRS. As of 2016, support for Woodall's bill has grown to 73 co-sponsors.<ref>{{cite news|title=Conservatives in Congress urge shutdown of IRS |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-taxes-congress/conservatives-in-congress-urge-shutdown-of-irs-idUSKCN0XT0TF |access-date=February 11, 2020 |date=May 2, 2016}}</ref>
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| In 2022, Representative [[Matt Gaetz]] of Florida introduced a bill to disarm the IRS after the agency had drawn public attention for a $700,000 purchase of ammunition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Kelly |date= July 18, 2022 |title=Yes, the Internal Revenue Service did buy nearly $700K in ammunition in early 2022 |url=https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/verify/government-verify/internal-revenue-service-did-buy-nearly-700k-in-ammunition/536-0ce9f538-a372-4c26-8013-1ab4e571578c |access-date=August 4, 2022 |website=cbs8.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gaetz |first=Matt |date=2022-07-01 |title=Text - H.R.8268 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Disarm the IRS Act |url=http://www.congress.gov/ |access-date=2022-08-04 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref>
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| The IRS has been criticized for its reliance on [[legacy software]]. Systems such as the [[Individual Master File]] are more than 50 years old and have been identified by the [[Government Accountability Office]] as "facing significant risks due to their reliance on legacy programming languages, outdated hardware, and a shortage of human resources with critical skills".<ref>{{cite report|author=United States Government Accountability Office|author-link= United States Government Accountability Office|date=28 June 2018|title=IRS Needs to Take Additional Actions to Address Significant Risks to Tax Processing|url=https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-298|id=GAO-18-298}}</ref>
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| In May 2024, the Senate Finance Committee takes a closer look at whether the IRS failed to control a tax break offered by the Puerto Rico government, known as ''Act 22'' to attract the wealthy in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cioffi |first=Chris |date=2024-05-28 |title=IRS Policing of Puerto Rico Perk for Rich Eyed in Senate Probe |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-tax-report/irs-policing-of-puerto-rico-perk-for-rich-eyed-in-senate-probe |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.bloomberglaw.com}}</ref>
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| ==See also== | | ==See also== |