At his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, President Joe Biden‘s choice to lead the Internal Revenue Service appeared to appease some GOP criticism by pledging to rebuild confidence in the struggling organization.
Daniel Werfel gave three hours of testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, where chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., described his position as “one of the more difficult and least popular jobs in town.”
Werfel backed Biden’s desire to target high-income taxpayers and reaffirmed Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s pledge not to raise audit rates for small businesses and households making under $400,000.
“If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, the audit and compliance priorities will be focused on enhancing IRS’ capabilities to ensure that America’s highest earners comply with applicable tax law,” Werfel said.
Werfel’s appointment occurs amid heated GOP criticism of the IRS, which saw significant financial increases thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed in August.
According to Treasury Department officials, the money will primarily be utilized to enhance taxpayer services and update the IRS’s outdated paper-based procedures.
“Also front and center will be efforts to modernize and dramatically improve taxpayer service. If confirmed, I will lead these efforts in close collaboration with this committee and will be unyielding in following my ‘true north’ — to increase the public trust, unheralded effective implementation of our taxes, and do anything necessary to fund critical government services,” he said.
“I understand the focus is to hire people with understanding and capacity and talent to unpack very complicated, intricate returns, which is a capacity gap that exists today,” he said.
During the hearing, Werfel, a 51-year-old business consultant who has previously worked for the government in a variety of capacities under both Democratic and Republican administrations, also promised to publish a plan for allocating the IRS’s recent funding increase, which amounts to about $80 billion over the next 10 years.
Werfel has not been engaged in formulating the IRS’s plan, which it must present to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen by this Friday.
Werfel asserted that the committee and the general public could link the IRA funds to the numerous investments and activities included in the plan.
In a letter to the former IRS commissioner shared with Congress last year, Yellen confirmed her commitment to not raising the tax audit rates for small businesses and households earning less than $400,000 per year, which he also reaffirmed.
Republicans who oppose the IRA have asserted that funding will be used to hire 87,000 additional agents to target Americans from middle-class families and small businesses.
Newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared in his opening remarks to the 118th Congress that “our very first bill will rescind the funds for 87,000 new IRS agents.”
Days later, despite Treasury Department officials and evidence proving the claim is incorrect, House Republicans voted to do just that.
At the session on Wednesday, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada asked Werfel if he intended to employ 87,000 additional agents to audit Americans.
“I am not. I think it’s patently incorrect,” he said, ading that the “notion of armed agents” — another GOP claim debunked by Treasury officials — also is incorrect.
“I certainly would have no intention of making that part of any plan going forward.”
Werfel also addressed other Republican criticism of the agency during the hearing on Wednesday, which Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, claimed was intended to “suppress conservative views” and engage in the unwarranted public intrusion.
GOP committee members cited a ProPublica initiative called The Secret IRS Files, a collection of articles on the strategies used by the ultra-wealthy to evade taxes based on data directly provided by the IRS.
Sen. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, posed the following question: “The leak still hasn’t been held accountable in any way.
Would you take the necessary actions to ensure that the compromised confidential tax information was held accountable and that it didn’t happen again?”
Maintaining data security would be a “high priority,” according to Werfel, mainly if he wanted to increase public confidence in the agency.
“Data security is a top priority. I don’t know how to build trust with the public when there’s a sense that there’s risk material risk of unauthorized disclosures,” he said.
“So, one of the things that I will do is work with the inspector general to understand what they see as the risks any specific action or activity that’s taken place have been investigated–what are the root causes … if there are their corrective actions because if there are, we will make them.”
Werfel, a nominee to succeed President Donald Trump’s choice for IRS commissioner Charles Rettig, is anticipated to breeze through a bipartisan confirmation process.
“I intend to support your confirmation, incidentally,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., during his questioning of Werfel.
After the Senate returns from its Presidents Day holiday, Wyden said as he closed the hearing that he anticipates moving Werfel’s nomination quickly.
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For almost 4 years, Jason Martin has been a freelance writer for newspapers, journals, blogs, books, and online material. He covers the most recent news as well as many other topics.