What is the mission and what are the main policy responsibilities of this organization?

The IRS Mission The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a Government institution that everybody loves to hate because it has the unpleasant yet necessary job of collecting taxes on behalf of Federal Government of the United States.
The IRS is a bureau of the Treasury department, its 100,000 plus workers make it the largest bureau of the Treasury. The majority of the IRS workforce is responsible for the collection of $2.4 trillion in annual taxes. (http://www.whorunsgov.com/Institutions/Treasury/Offices/TS/IRS) The IRS has a

budget of $13.3 billion, the bulk of it $6 billion goes for enforcement, $4.6 billion for operations support, and $2.3 billion for taxpayer education.The mission of the IRS is to Provide America's taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all. (IRS WWW) When congress passes new laws the IRS helps the large majority of compliant taxpayers with the tax law, while ensuring that the minority who are unwilling to comply pay their fair share. (IRS www). The beginnings of the IRS can be traced back to the Civil War. The origins of the IRS can be traced to the U.S. civil war, the Civil War Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861 it was passed to generate income to pay for the war. It included a tax on citizens incomes. Ten years later the tax was repealed. Then again in 1894 Congress passed another federal income tax, however, the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. The modern IRS was created in 1913, that year Wyoming ratified the 16th amendment which granted congress the authority to enact an income tax. The current head of the IRS was appointed by -Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in 2008. Shulman was appointed to a five-year term as head of the IRS. According to Paulson the reason for appointing Shulmans was his experience restructuring the IRS. that made him an ideal candidate for the position. (WSJ) Shulman while working in Congress worked in the passage of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. He helped negotiate and implement a sweeping overhaul of the nations tax agency, as a member of the commissions staff. He got the job because he was already a beurocrat and he was part of the reorganization of the agency.

The IRS is a bureaucratic organization, with a hierarchical structure. It is divided into 4 main departments: Wage and Investment, Large Business and International, Small Business/SelfEmployed, and Tax-Exempt and Government Entities. These 4 departments report directly IRS commissioner. They divided the departments into the tax brackets tax payers fall into. Wage and Investment would taxpayers paying income tax and capital gains taxes and so on and so forth. There is other departments but they are much smaller and also report directly to the commissioner.

If you were to work at the IRS one of the most interesting positions would be the one of IRS CI Special Agent. They audit people who they suspect are not paying their fair share of taxes and audit it. The requirement for this job is a bachelors degree with a focus in accounting and to have to completed the CPA exams. Another interesting job at the IRS is a Tax Law Specialist that is an entry level position that has a lot of room for growth with the IRS organization. The only job requirement is a four year degree in either accounting or

federal tax law. Business & Tax Enforcement is another high growth career in the IRS. This career is interesting because they are ones in charge of collecting the money of people who owe the IRS money. It also requires a four year degree with a background in accounting. To get a job at the IRS you have to go to their website usajobs.gov and create a profile with your information and apply to open positions. It is a very simple process. Most entry level jobs in the IRS require at least a 4 year degree with an emphasis in accounting. Recent news featuring the IRS include the disclosure the agency made 2.7 billion dollars from an amnesty program that allowed people who were hiding money in oversees back to pay back owed taxes and penalties but would not face persecution for tax evasion. Another recent new development featuring the IRS is the fact that the IRS requires U.S. citizens living abroad pay income taxes on their wages they earn abroad. Most citizens are unaware of this and the ones living abroad are now being contacted by the IRS to pay for their back owed taxes.

The IRS has many outsides bodies that oversee it, since it is such an important organization that affects most of the population in one way or another. It is overseen by three main bodies: Federal oversight organizations, Advisory and Advocacy Organization, and House and Senate Oversight Committees. The Federal Organizations that oversee the IRS are the: Government Accountability Office, The Office of Management and Budget, and The Treasury Inspector General. The Government Accountability Office reports to Congress and oversees all Federal Agencies. It is the Congress watchdog overseeing the federal bureaucracy. The Office of Management and Budget is similar to the previous organization; however, it reports directly to the president as opposed to Congress. The Treasury Inspector General audits the IRS and investigates complaints. Some Advisroy and Advocary Oraganizations that oversee the IRS are: The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council, they provide a forum where tax payers can convey their concerns and then they relay them to IRS officials. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel also conveys concerns to IRS officials. The IRS Oversight Board it is an independent body composed of members appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. The board oversees everything from the direction of the agency to the management. In the House the Ways and Means Committee in the Senate Committee on Finance oversees the IRS. (http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=137824,00.html)

A lot of groups are trying to lower their tax obligations. However, the IRS is just the agent for the collection of taxes. The IRS does have some methods were tax-payers can voice their concerns and suggest changes to the way the IRS collects taxes, but the IRS is not in charge of setting tax rates. Most of the lobbyist go to the house committees that oversee that IRS. Since

the IRS is just a collection agent people are generally against it because it collecting some of their money. However, it is not like the EPA that many groups oppose or support.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/newsroom/budget-in-brief-2012.pdf