The IRS is revamping the top of its organizational structure for the first time in two decades, the agency announced Wednesday.
The changes include a rollback to one deputy IRS commissioner, instead of two, and four new chief positions that will oversee taxpayer service, tax compliance, information technology, and operations. They will go into effect early 2024.
Restructuring was a part of the IRS’ strategic operating planreleased last year. The plan details how the agency will spend its new tens of billions of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act or tax-and-climate law.
“The entire landscape around tax administration – including the economy, tax laws and technology — have undergone major changes since the last IRS reorganization,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in the press release. “The new structure will help the top leadership to work together to drive faster and more effective progress. It’s critical we deliver for taxpayers and the nation as we work to make important improvements at the IRS.”
The new IRS deputy commissioner role will be filled by Doug O’Donnell, who is currently the deputy commissioner for services and enforcement. He will oversee IRS Online Services as well as officials who will serve in four new IRS chief positions: Ken Corbin, chief of taxpayer service, Heather Maloy, chief taxpayer compliance officer, Rajiv Uppal, chief information officer, and Melanie Krause, chief operating officer.
The new structure gives heightened importance to these positions and will provide more flexibility, Werfel said in a press call. This structure is similar to how the Treasury Department and other government offices are organized. It also echos recommendations made in the Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress in January 2021.
Jeff Tribiano, the current deputy commissioner for operations support, signaled to Werfel early this year that he was looking to leave the IRS which “allowed the agency to look at different models for how to proceed,” Werfel said, adding it was an “inspirational moment.” Tribiano will take on a special assignment at the Treasury Department to help with some current budget challenges and once that is complete, he will move to a new Senior Executive Service role in government, the IRS said in an internal email. Krause will serve as acting deputy for operations and support until the new structure is in place.
While Nina Olson, the Executive Director at the Center for Taxpayer Rights agrees with having a single deputy commissioner, she does “worry about the separation of service and compliance into two component organizations,” she said in an email.
“In the past that has led to employees with very different mindsets and cultures,” Olson said. “So we’ll need to see how this plays out.”
The change provides more specialization at the top of the IRS organization chart than the current two deputy commissioner model, Werfel said, and for a majority of IRS employees, their day-to-day work would not be immediately impacted.
The commissioner is “entirely correct” for making the changes to the leadership structure after almost a year at the agency, Former IRS Commissioner and alliantgroup Vice Chairman Mark Everson said. Everson added the second deputy commissioner position to the structure in 2003 following the last major realignment of the agency in 2000.
Werfel is going to have to work hard to continue to get direct input from the division level, Everson said, adding the underlying challenges at the agency still remain.
The IRS will work with committees in Congress and the National Treasury Employees Union as the change progresses. The reorganization will not have any impact on budgetary appropriations and the IRS has started its duty to notify Congress of adjustment, Werfel said.
