01/26/2018

Trump Picks Next IRS Chief

The president is expected to nominate Charles Rettig as the next IRS commissioner

President Donald Trump is expected to nominate tax lawyer Charles Rettig as the next commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to numerous reports.

If confirmed by the Senate, Rettig would serve a five-year term and would replace David Kautter, Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy and acting commissioner since John Koskinen left at the end of his term in November. Rettig is currently a tax attorney in California and has more than 30 years of experience representing clients before the IRS, Justice Department and various state tax jurisdictions, according to POLITICO.

Rettig’s experience with the technical aspects of the tax code could be useful as the agency begins to develop regulations implementing the sweeping new tax law enacted last month. The IRS has been seeking additional funding from Congress, in part to handle the implementation of tax reform legislation but also just to ensure the agency is carrying out its revenue collection and enforcement responsibilities.

Ways and Means Republicans have been holding hearings in recent months on ways to restructure the IRS to improve the taxpayer experience. Congressional Republicans have cut the IRS budget by nearly 20 percent since 2010, penalizing the agency in particular for improperly scrutinizing tax-exempt applications by conservative groups several years ago.

This article was provided to OSAE by the Power of A and ASAE's Inroads.