this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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Summary

The IRS is considering drastic workforce reduction plans that could cut up to half of its 90,000 employees through layoffs, attrition, and buyouts.

The Trump administration, working through Elon Musk's DOGE, has already laid off 7,000 probationary (newly hired) employees and plans further reductions.

Former IRS commissioners warn that such cuts would make the agency dysfunctional: “Reducing the IRS’s resources will make our government less effective and efficient in collecting taxes Congress has imposed.”

The agency may also lend workers to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration deportation.

top 32 comments
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[–] foggy 11 points 23 hours ago

Ok so we all lying on our taxes this year, right?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago

They will erase the departments chasing businesses and rich people for money and only poor's will have to pay taxes

[–] Litebit 60 points 1 day ago

The elites want IRS less efficient and dysfunctional.

[–] Podunk 28 points 1 day ago

Run government like a buisiness they said.

Lets fire everyone in accounts receivable they say.

I know what direction this "business" is going...

Fucking morons.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago (3 children)

its been shown they can only go after people earning less than 100k/year if they are cut too much, and ignore the bigger fish like corporations and rich people.

[–] asdfasdfasdf 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Maybe i should start saying I make $90 billion a year as a tax optimization

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Do you have a source for this?

If true, maybe I should stop paying taxes entirely.

[–] ours 2 points 1 day ago

I'm sure that's Musk's goal.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

“You don’t hyper-decant your wine? You gotta hyper decant!”

[–] ours 4 points 1 day ago

Oligarchs are going to eat good.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 day ago

This should make tax season pressure free for new families, given the sudden uptick in octuplets birthed in the previous tax year. It's nice not to have to worry about getting audited.

Besides, the IRS is definitely going to get turned into a political weapon, given that they've already accused Democrats of that, this is one of their next projections.

[–] b3an 2 points 20 hours ago

Well, time to start learning how to do NEU USA taxes. Where we shirk our own tax responsibilities through loopholes just like big companies! Grandma and Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Aunty Em. Let’s all get us some offshore accounts and shell companies! Hey, I’m just doing what the President is encouraging. If they don’t have staff to enforce it either, whooo boy. But not my problem. I voted for the other gal 🤷 This is “~A~me~rica~ First!”

[–] AnUnusualRelic 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But don't some of those .1% types get loads of money from the US government? Where do they think that money comes from? The money fairies?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

I suppose to them, the US Treasury is magic. You'd think the 'titans of industry' would understand that taxing is needed even when you can print money because money itself is a commodity. It's only worth something if not everyone has it.

[–] WaxiestSteam69 24 points 1 day ago (4 children)

It's dysfunctional now. I've been dealing with a problem with my 2018 return because of mistake by my preparer. I tried multiple times over a two year period to reach someone on the phone with no success. On my last attempt I got to a person after 1 hour 45 minutes on hold. I sent the requested documents in November 2024 and still haven't received so much as an acknowledgement in the mail.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago

It’s on the brink of complete collapse, which is exactly where they want it so they are free to lie and cheat and steal from the people.

[–] meco03211 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Weird. I had to deal with them once. I remember it being very quick and painless.

[–] WaxiestSteam69 8 points 1 day ago

Once I got in touch with someone they were helpful and professional. They're just so understaffed you can't speak to someone. The first three times I tried to call tye system message was basically "There is no more room in the queue. Please try again later. You will be disconnected now." And I was.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you're worried, send it certified mail and forget about it.

[–] WaxiestSteam69 4 points 1 day ago

Here's the kicker. The IRS won't accept mail with a return response. You can send it and track it but you can't be sure anyone actually received it. That happened on one of my attempts to send it via mail. It was received the second time.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It’s the 2021 return for me.
I finally got a letter saying “you goofed you calculations, we recalculated them. If you don’t contest the new amount by [DATE], we will send your return in the new amount.”

[DATE] was six months ago.

[–] WaxiestSteam69 2 points 1 day ago

My preparer didn't e-file and I didn't find out until 9 months after the due date. I had paid the taxes due electronically and had all the receipts so the IRS agreed I didn't owe them. They just wanted me to file. Five years since the first notice and I still don't have a final status. I'm guessing a lot of people simply won't pay or file if they cut the staffing that much.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that IRS employees are most-likely revenue-positive for the government.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

right now they are just raiding the govt for money and then leave an empty husk, more or less its being run like a PE firm does.

[–] d00ery 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Lmao the republicans are the not the party of the little people.
The article is from 2022 Inflation Reduction Act https://www.caltaxadviser.com/irs-audits-are-about-to-surge-heres-who-theyre-targeting/

Commissioner Werfel emphasized that most Americans, particularly middle- and low-income taxpayers as well as small business owners, will not experience a significant increase in audits. Instead, by prioritizing high-wealth individuals, large corporations, and intricate partnerships, the IRS aims to target its resources where they can have the most significant impact

Lol https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/irs-should-target-large-complex-partnerships-watchdog-says

[–] circuitloss 7 points 1 day ago

This may be the most insane thing this insane administration has done so far

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Ah, the tried and true strategy of saving money on fuel by quitting your job

[–] GaMEChld 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This seems like a good time for everyone to cheat on taxes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] GaMEChld 1 points 9 hours ago

Too obvious imo, would consume more resources if investigation were required. If you had a few more deductions and losses on the other hand, that reduces your tax burden and boom.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Musk’s DOGE turns IRS into a hollow shell; good luck funding Congress’s spending spree now.

🐱