IRS cuts threaten tax enforcement amid Trump's downsizing drive
According to reports from Reuters, approximately 6,000 employees of the American tax agency, the IRS, will be made redundant as part of President Donald Trump's cutbacks. The reduction in workforce, overseen by Elon Musk, will impact 6% of the personnel responsible for enforcing tax payments by the wealthiest citizens.
On Thursday, the IRS's representative, Christy Armstrong, announced mass redundancies affecting 6,000 employees, or 6% of the agency's staff. The decision comes at a particularly crucial time: just before the April 15th deadline for filing tax returns.
These reductions are part of President Donald Trump's broader campaign to downsize the federal administration. Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), supports this programme. Reuters notes that the redundancies will also include agencies regulating the activities of large corporations and departments overseeing Musk's companies, such as SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink.
More than 6,000 people will lose their jobs
According to sources, the total number of redundancies at the IRS could reach 6,700 people, and the cuts are primarily targeting positions created during Joe Biden's presidency as part of efforts to enhance the enforcement of tax payments by the wealthiest citizens - it reads.
The redundancies will affect all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. The most affected offices will be in Pennsylvania, New York, Utah, California, and Kentucky. The cuts will also affect IT specialists, customer service staff, and tax collection agents.
The Trump administration plans to reduce the federal budget by £790 billion. Reuters reminds us that Republicans view an expanded administration as excessively costly and inefficient. However, as noted, the IRS redundancies could severely disrupt the tax return filing process.
Trump's decisions have faced harsh criticism from the Democrats, who accuse the President of dismantling key government programmes and overstepping his authority. Contracts worth £6.7 billion have already been cancelled, covering foreign aid and diversity-related programmes.
Due to the chaos in the administration, oversight of drug and food exports has been halted, and some laid-off employees responsible for nuclear weapon oversight have been reinstated. However, in light of this uncertainty, the IRS plans to retain key employees responsible for processing tax refunds.
