By American Bar Association
Internal Revenue Service employees and U.S. taxpayers will face challenges and delays in light of recent changes and cuts at the IRS, according to several former high-ranking IRS officials and a tax policy reporter who spoke at the May Tax Meeting, hosted by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, in Washington.
At the May 9 program “What Will Be the Effects of Budget and Staffing Cuts at the IRS?”, the panelists discussed the present and the future of the agency in the wake of recent orders issued by the Trump administration.
The current administration thinks the push in hiring that was previously done at the IRS was “wasteful” and believes that collections will increase with even fewer workers at the agency, said Wall Street Journal reporter Richard Rubin, who has covered the IRS for 20 years. “The mindset shift is very, very different from where administrations and services have been in the past,” he said.
Former IRS commissioner Charles Rettig emphasized the importance of people to make the agency work and is dismayed by the current cuts that have created a “diminished and demoralized” workforce.
“I am a major believer that the success of the IRS depends on the people of the IRS,” said Rettig, now a shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Los Angeles, adding that the employees rose to the challenge during the COVID pandemic and leaned into it. Rettig said while he is concerned about the reduction in workforce, especially the loss of experienced employees and managers, he is also worried about cuts that impact the modernization and use of technology to improve the agency as well as cyberattacks against it from countries such as North Korea, Iran, China and Russia.
“The administration needs to find a balance,” Rettig said, which means “having an oversupply of people and technology until you can see how technology can assist and where you can draw back.”
Stability and flexibility were selling points for recruiting IRS workers, said Tom Cullinan, former counselor to the IRS commissioner and currently a shareholder with Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Atlanta. However, that is not the case now because of the staffing cuts and uncertainty that plague the agency and the federal government overall.
Michael Desmond, former chief counsel of the IRS and now a member with Miller & Chevalier Chartered in Washington, D.C., agreed that a lot of short-term uncertainty exists. “But it will settle somewhere,” he said.
So, what can the IRS do to improve taxpayer services in the current political climate? “Show respect for the people in the United States and that starts with showing respect for the employees of the Internal Revenue Service,” Rettig said.
Desmond said it’s important to hire a good marketing department. “So much of what happens in this country socio-economically is driven through the service, and the reputation is breaking kneecaps,” he said. He would like more people to appreciate how much of their socio-economic life, such as receiving COVID payment checks and credit for health care insurance, comes through the administration of the tax law and the IRS “needs a better marketing department to do that,” he said.
Cullinan pointed to the need for digitization. “I would really work on digitizing everything you possibly can” to alleviate the dependence on paper, Cullinan said.
“The IRS touches more Americans than any other public or private sector organization on the planet,” Rettig said, adding that as the most powerful, richest country in the world, “the people deserve the best service of any individual tax administrator.”
Garrett Brodeur, an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, moderated the program.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/05/panelists-uncertainty-hangs-over-irs/)
Internal Revenue Service employees and U.S. taxpayers will face challenges and delays in light of recent changes and cuts at the IRS, according to several former high-ranking IRS officials and a tax policy reporter who spoke at the May Tax Meeting, hosted by the American Bar Association Section of Taxation, in Washington.
At the May 9 program “What Will Be the Effects of Budget and Staffing Cuts at the IRS?”, the panelists discussed the present and the future of the agency in the wake of recent orders issued by the Trump administration.
The current administration thinks the push in hiring that was previously done at the IRS was “wasteful” and believes that collections will increase with even fewer workers at the agency, said Wall Street Journal reporter Richard Rubin, who has covered the IRS for 20 years. “The mindset shift is very, very different from where administrations and services have been in the past,” he said.
Former IRS commissioner Charles Rettig emphasized the importance of people to make the agency work and is dismayed by the current cuts that have created a “diminished and demoralized” workforce.
“I am a major believer that the success of the IRS depends on the people of the IRS,” said Rettig, now a shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Los Angeles, adding that the employees rose to the challenge during the COVID pandemic and leaned into it. Rettig said while he is concerned about the reduction in workforce, especially the loss of experienced employees and managers, he is also worried about cuts that impact the modernization and use of technology to improve the agency as well as cyberattacks against it from countries such as North Korea, Iran, China and Russia.
“The administration needs to find a balance,” Rettig said, which means “having an oversupply of people and technology until you can see how technology can assist and where you can draw back.”
Stability and flexibility were selling points for recruiting IRS workers, said Tom Cullinan, former counselor to the IRS commissioner and currently a shareholder with Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Atlanta. However, that is not the case now because of the staffing cuts and uncertainty that plague the agency and the federal government overall.
Michael Desmond, former chief counsel of the IRS and now a member with Miller & Chevalier Chartered in Washington, D.C., agreed that a lot of short-term uncertainty exists. “But it will settle somewhere,” he said.
So, what can the IRS do to improve taxpayer services in the current political climate? “Show respect for the people in the United States and that starts with showing respect for the employees of the Internal Revenue Service,” Rettig said.
Desmond said it’s important to hire a good marketing department. “So much of what happens in this country socio-economically is driven through the service, and the reputation is breaking kneecaps,” he said. He would like more people to appreciate how much of their socio-economic life, such as receiving COVID payment checks and credit for health care insurance, comes through the administration of the tax law and the IRS “needs a better marketing department to do that,” he said.
Cullinan pointed to the need for digitization. “I would really work on digitizing everything you possibly can” to alleviate the dependence on paper, Cullinan said.
“The IRS touches more Americans than any other public or private sector organization on the planet,” Rettig said, adding that as the most powerful, richest country in the world, “the people deserve the best service of any individual tax administrator.”
Garrett Brodeur, an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, moderated the program.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2025/05/panelists-uncertainty-hangs-over-irs/)
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