The Trump administration fired approximately 6,700 probationary IRS employees, close to 7% of the agency’s workforce, according to multiple reports. Probationary means that they were new in their position, either because they were new to the agency or were promoted or reassigned to a new position.
The Small Business and Self-Employed unit appeared to be the hardest hit, with over 3,500 employees departing. Scrutiny of those businesses became a greater point of emphasis as part of the Biden administration’s expansion of the IRS, facilitated by additional funding — now largely rescinded or frozen — from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. According to Bloomberg Tax, probationary employees in the Chief Counsel’s Office will be unaffected.
The firings were communicated internally on Feb. 20 and took effect Feb. 21, according to multiple reports.
Grant Thornton Insight:
The new employee cuts come in addition to recent losses from employees accepting the voluntary termination offer. The IRS workforce reductions are heavily weighted on the enforcement side and will gut IRS efforts to increase audit activity. It’s also possible that taxpayer services are affected by the cuts.
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