The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Print E-mail
Personal Finance - Taxes

The Internal Revenue Service is formed in 1862 when congress established the Commissioner of Internal Revenue office. This office was given the power to assess, levy, and collect taxes, and the right to enforce the tax laws by means of seizure of property and income, and through prosecution.

 

As far as the powers given to the Internal Revenue Service, not much has changed since the income tax law of 1862. The income taxation of the individual citizen has changed, somewhat considerably, however. The income tax was revoked in 1872, revived in 1894 and 1895, and then laid to the side.

 

In the 50s, the agency was reorganized to replace a patronage system with career, professional employees. The Bureau of Internal Revenue name was changed to the Internal Revenue Service. Only the IRS commissioner and chief counsel are selected by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

 

The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 prompted the most comprehensive reorganization and modernization of IRS in nearly half a century. The IRS reorganized itself to resemble the private sector model of organizing around customers with similar needs closely.

 

To support its structure and ensure accountability, the IRS is divided into three commissioner-level organizations:

 

Specialized IRS units report directly to the Commissioner's office. The IRS Chief Counsel also reports to the Treasury General Counsel on certain matters.

 

  • Commissioner, Internal Revenue

  • IRS Chief Counsel

  • Appeals

  • Taxpayer Advocate Service

  • Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity

  • Research, Analysis, and Statistics

  • Communications and Liaison

  • Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement

 

The Deputy Commissioner reports directly to the Commissioner and oversees the four primary operating divisions and other service and enforcement functions:

 

  • Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement

  • Wage and Investment Division

  • Large and Mid-Size Business Division

  • Small Business/Self Employed Division

  • Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division

  • Criminal Investigation

  • Office of Professional Responsibility

  • Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support

 

The Deputy Commissioner reports directly to the Commissioner and oversees the integrated IRS support functions, facilitating economy of scale efficiencies and better business practices:

 

  • Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support

  • Modernization and Information Technology Services

  • Agency-Wide Shared Services

  • Mission Assurance and Security Services

  • Human Capital Officer

  • Chief Financial Officer

 

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an IRS program that provides an independent system to assure that tax problems, which have not been resolved through normal channels, are promptly and fairly handled.

 

Each state and campus has at least one local Taxpayer Advocate, who is independent of the local IRS office and reports directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate.

 

The goals of the Taxpayer Advocate Service are to protect individual and business taxpayer rights and to reduce taxpayer burden. The Taxpayer Advocate independently represents your interests and concerns within the IRS. This is accomplished in two ways:

 

  • Ensuring that taxpayer problems: which have not been resolved through normal channels, are promptly and fairly handled;

  • Identifying issues that increase burden or create problems for taxpayers: Bringing those issues to the attention of IRS management and making legislative proposals where necessary.

 

For additional information regarding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you can contact their website at the URL http://www.irs.gov/.

Other Resources

IRS Levy Tax Help - Tax Attorneys of MyTaxProblem.com provide for its clients tax help with avoiding IRS wage levy.

Tax Services in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland - "Since 1997 our San Francisco bay area tax attorneys have helped many San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland taxpayers"

San Diego Tax Attorney - If you live in San Diego or anywhere in nearby area, our San Diego tax attorneys can help you.


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