President Biden decides on nomination for IRS Commissioner

Biden’s nomination comes at a critical time for the agency. After another difficult filing season, the IRS is still wrestling with a backlog. As of Nov. 4, there were 4.2 million unprocessed individual returns received this year, according to the agency.  

“I look at the numbers and see millions of taxpayers that are still waiting for their returns to be processed,” wrote National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins in a blog post Thursday. “Tax refunds are a lifeline for some taxpayers and important for almost all.”

Mark Everson, a former IRS commissioner and current vice chairman at Alliantgroup, said it’s a “challenging assignment,” and hopes for a swift confirmation from Congress.

“They need to get somebody in place promptly because the services are still inadequate, there are major questions on data security and the filing season is fast approaching,” said Everson, who served the agency under President George W. Bush.  

Yellen in August outlined top priorities for the $80 billion in IRS funding, including clearing the backlog, improving customer service, overhauling the agency’s technology systems and hiring IRS employees to replace retiring workers.

While the influx of IRS funding has been controversial among some Republicans, Everson expects to see transparency during future hearings as the agency irons out spending plans.   

“Tax administration has become too much of a political issue,” he said. “My hope is that [Werfel] will be able to dial that down a little bit and just talk about what’s working, what’s not working and what needs to be fixed.”

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig’s term with the agency ends Saturday.