Opinion Today: Cry for the I.R.S.? Maybe.

Seven former I.R.S. commissioners on why starving the agency won't help normal taxpayers.

nytimes.com February 24, 2025 By Spencer Bokat-Lindell Staff Editor, Opinion Of all the agencies affected by President Trump's purge of the federal government so far, one stands out as perhaps uniquely unlikely to draw sympathy: the Internal Revenue Service. Last week, the White House fired 6,700 I.R.S. employees, over 6 percent of the agency's work force, most of whom belonged to teams responsible for auditing and collecting tax revenue. Given that the cuts came during tax filing season, when people are often tricked or strong-armed into spending billions of dollars on preparation services, it's perhaps unsurprising that Americans haven't taken to the streets to defend the keeper of their 1040s. But as seven former I.R.S. commissioners point out in a guest essay for Times Opinion, the I.R.S. is responsible only for enforcing the nation's tax policies, not designing them. In the absence of action from Congress, they write that starving the agency of resources will not simplify or lower Americans' taxes. What it will do, the commissioners argue, is hamstring the government's ability to collect the revenue it is owed, which will in turn increase the federal deficit: "It will shift the burden of funding the government from people who shirk their taxes to the honest people who pay them, and it will impede efforts by the I.R.S. to modernize customer service and simplify the tax filing process for everyone." If the government were a business, "perhaps only the company's competitors and debtors would approve of such an approach," they write. "Yet here we are." Read the guest essay: Ken Sausage Guest Essay Trump Just Fired 6,700 I.R.S. Workers in the Middle of Tax Season. That's a Huge Mistake. The Trump administration's decision to fire over 6,000 I.R.S. workers will make the government less effective and less efficient, not more. By Lawrence Gibbs, Fred T. 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