A new inspector general audit found that dozens of IRS employees have violated restrictions against outside employment by preparing others’ tax returns. This is an inherent conflict of interest that demands the question: who audits the IRS? 

To become an official e-file provider, an individual must register with the IRS and designate a “Responsible Official,” the person accountable for the preparation and filing of that individual’s tax returns. The audit found that 67 of those Responsible Officials were active IRS employees — agents preparing clients’ tax returns on the side for compensation, in direct violation of agency ethics rules. Even more alarming, 49 of those employees were revenue agents and contract representatives, the very staff responsible for reviewing and enforcing taxpayer compliance. 

This reveals a two-fold failure: a breach of ethical conduct and a systemic inability to catch it. The IRS has no process to identify whether an e-file applicant or their designated Responsible Official is a current agency employee. This means these violations went undetected for years, overlooked by the suitability checks designed to prevent them. While management has agreed to address the gap, agreeing to fix a problem and actually fixing it are two very different things. 

The Alliance for IRS Accountability (AIA) is alarmed to learn of yet another example demonstrating that the very agency pursuing aggressive enforcement tactics against taxpayers for the slightest misstep cannot even monitor its own workforce properly — and only agreed to fix the problem after an inspector general drew attention to it. If the IRS expects every American to play by the rules, it must first demonstrate that it does the same.  

The double standard woven into the fabric of this agency is glaring, and taxpayers are paying attention. The IRS cannot continue to demand compliance from everyone else while evading accountability itself. AIA will keep asking the hard questions until it does. 

Read the full story here.

If you, or someone you know, have experienced a specific IRS abuse and wish to flag the instance for potential inclusion in our Abuse of the Week series, call our dedicated Abuse Hotline, located in the Resources section of our homepage, or contact us with the details at info@irsaccountability.org.