A watchdog group has revealed that nearly 500 IRS employees are pocketing payments from big financial firms which could be a conflict of interest or indicate corruption on a massive scale.
These employees have received fat paychecks from large private firms either before, during, or after they leave the IRS according to the agency’s internal watchdog.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released an analysis on the issue Tuesday. It noted that 496 employees were the recipients of income from a large accounting firm or corporation, according to The Hill. Of those noted, 241 were paid by a large accounting firm and 255 received remuneration by a large corporation.
“Those IRS employees were from the IRS’s chief counsel’s office, the appeals office, and the large business and international division, which is now in the spotlight as the IRS gears up with new funding to collect more in taxes from wealthy people and big companies,” the media outlet reported.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) prompted the release of the report after calling for an examination of the “revolving door” between the IRS and the accounting industry.
“As Acting Treasury Inspector General and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, you each already have the statutory power and responsibility to investigate allegations of misconduct with respect to the administration of programs at the Treasury Department and the IRS, including through access to any relevant records and subpoena power,” they told the TIGTA.
“The questions raised by giant accounting firms’ use of the revolving door to benefit their clients falls squarely within your missions to ‘promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness’ and ‘prevent and detect fraud and abuse’ in the programs and operations of the Treasury Department and IRS,” Warren and Jayapal contended.
The phrase “revolving door” is misleading at best. It is a common practice for those working at the IRS to either have worked at a major accounting firm or large corporation before or after being at the agency. Working at one of them during a stint at the IRS, however, could very well be problematic, and if they are a plant, that indicates corruption.
The whole system needs a 1776 reset
— Brian A Yount (@briany12345) August 30, 2023
The New York Times reported in 2021 that there has been an effort to embed private-sector rule writers within the Treasury to produce government policy that is friendly to big business. That would also be a conflict of interest which should necessitate that the agency do a better job of vetting candidates when hiring if the allegation is indeed true.
“This can result in a long-studied phenomenon known as ‘regulatory capture,’ whereby industries effectively become their own regulators by getting too chummy with the government,” The Hill reported.
“Their tax lawyers take senior jobs at the Treasury Department, where they write policies that are frequently favorable to their former corporate clients, often with the expectation that they will soon return to their old employers. The firms welcome them back with loftier titles and higher pay,” the Times reported in 2021.
If that is correct, that is a practice that needs to be stopped. It’s definitely a conflict of interest and opens the door to corruption.
The TIGTA is evidently very aware of the situation.
Sounds corrupt.
— Hades (@wolvesofhades) August 30, 2023
“Processes are in place to identify and address potential conflicts of interest in large corporate tax administration,” the agency claimed in its analysis.
The IRS justified its hiring policies by claiming it needs the expertise of private-sector tax pros to effectively do its job and act on its mandate from Congress to go after wealthy tax cheats.
“Given the report’s focus on large corporate taxpayers, we note that effective tax administration for this segment of the population necessitates having a highly skilled and experienced workforce that can successfully conduct complex audits of large corporations,” Holly O. Paz, acting commissioner of the IRS’s large business and international division, wrote in response to the New York Time’s report.
“In addition to the knowledge and talent that these individuals bring to the IRS, they come to the IRS sensitized to potential conflicts of interest,” she declared.
Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
DONATE TO AMERICAN WIRE
If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to American Wire News to help us fight them.
- Worried McCarthy admits he’s perilously close to losing speakership; Gaetz holds ground against fuming GOP - October 3, 2023
- Civil rights leader slams ‘divisive protests’ and ‘rioting’ under the guise of social justice - October 3, 2023
- MLB star vindicated after ‘gold digger’ smeared him with assault allegations, with big assist from media - October 3, 2023
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.