WASHINGTON -- Following diverse reports questioning the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) adherence to taxpayer rights – standards IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel pledged to uphold – Senate Finance Committee Republicans are seeking answers. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the committee, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the committee’s ranking member, and Republican committee members requested information directly from the IRS, as well as an investigation by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).? 

In a letter to the IRS, the senators requested information on several news reports to help the committee better understand the allegations at issue, writing, in part:

“As Commissioner of the IRS, you pledged an oath to uphold the Constitution and become personally responsible to ‘ensure’ that all IRS employees ‘act in accord’ with each of the statutory taxpayer rights, including the right to a fair and just tax system.?We are concerned that these serious allegations, which have occurred in a short period of time and represent a diverse array of taxpayers, could show a pattern of heavy-handed IRS misconduct.” 

In a separate letter to TIGTA, the senators requested an investigation into one specific alleged incident of IRS misconduct and taxpayer intimidation, highlighting TIGTA’s statutory responsibility to supervise IRS operations, including its criminal functions and employees: 

“Americans have a right to know whether the serious allegations described above are being investigated.?We urge TIGTA to open an investigation immediately, and further ask TIGTA to be prepared to provide Members of the Finance Committee with regularly scheduled updates and briefings on the progress of your investigation.”. 

Read the full letter to the IRS HERE, and the full letter to TIGTA HERE.

Background:

The lawmakers’ letter cites three accounts of taxpayers receiving unannounced visits from the IRS in the last few months:

  • March: An IRS agent stopped at the home of a journalist who testified the same day before the House Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government.
  • April: An IRS agent entered a home under deceptive pretenses, and when asked to leave, reportedly stated he was entitled to be there and commented on penalties for noncompliance with IRS requests.
  • June: Multiple IRS agents showed up at a gun retailer and seized boxes of background check forms, which are “not financial documents” and “of questionable relevance to the IRS.”

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