The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is reportedly taking aggressive steps that could severely impair the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) ability to collect taxes and enforce tax laws, according to a Friday report from The Washington Post. As part of its broader initiative to reduce the federal budget deficit, DOGE, led by President Donald Trump and backed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, is expected to lay off thousands of IRS employees — including those responsible for tax collection.
The layoffs are said to target roughly 9,000 probationary employees within the IRS, many of whom were hired as part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed during the Biden administration. This act allocated funds to hire approximately 10,000 new IRS agents.
According to The Washington Post, internal Treasury discussions have indicated that these cuts could begin as early as Friday, with the focus likely falling on IRS employees in tax collection. The layoffs would affect those employees still in their probationary period and would be part of a larger, across-the-board reduction in federal government staff, a move that many believe is aligned with DOGE’s mission to cut government spending and reduce the deficit.
In addition to the layoffs, reports indicate that Musk and his team have been meeting with high-ranking IRS officials, including IRS Chief of Taxpayer Services Ken Corbin and the agency’s top enforcement officer, Heather Maloy. Gavin Kliger, a software engineer now working at the IRS, was among those who met with Corbin and Maloy in what sources suggest could be discussions of dramatic changes to the IRS’s structure and operations.
Musk and his team’s broader approach at DOGE has involved significant staff cuts and freezes on spending across various departments. The actions have been met with pushback, including several lawsuits.
While the planned layoffs at the IRS under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have sparked significant concern among liberals, many believe the cuts will have positive implications, particularly for everyday Americans and the broader fiscal landscape. Proponents argue that the reductions could streamline the IRS and eliminate waste, easing the burden on taxpayers and making the system more efficient.
One of the most cited benefits of reducing the IRS workforce is the potential to cut down on unnecessary bureaucracy. Critics of the current system argue that the IRS, with its growing staff, has become increasingly complicated, and the tax code itself is an overbearing, convoluted labyrinth. Trimming the agency could lead to simplified tax laws and reducing the excessive regulations that many Americans struggle to navigate each year.
Proponents of reducing the IRS’s workforce argue that trimming staff could help eliminate waste and create a more accountable and cost-effective government. The cuts would force federal leadership to prioritize its core functions, cutting down on unnecessary activities and focusing resources where they are most needed.
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Amen! Slice and dice the bloated government. Then we should start on the state, county, and city bureaucracies. And quit the damned UN.
Most Bureaucrats “make work” that is useless and do not do their jobs.
All those kids that were hired out of college will now have to adjust their lives and figure out another way to make a living. After leaving the federal bureaucracy, will they develop a new anti-government ideology? When they have to compete with government to make a paycheck things change.
Yes, trim those 87,000 new agents, hired, armed (!) and funded to target conservatives as part of the Left’s war on MAGA.
Cut the IRS further by moving to a Value Added Tax. Consumption rather than earnings becomes basis for tax. Collection of tax moves to cash register.
Use IRS or external Revenu Service to collect tarrifs.
I support looking for efficiencies at all levels of government. However, I believe President Trump needs to work through Congress to make changes. If they do not approve what he wants to do, then there is a real concern because, if he can’t get legislation through a Congress controlled by his party, then there are issues that need to be considered. I believe in the adage “Haste Makes Waste.” By trying to consolidate power in the Presidency, he is upsetting the balance of power created in the Constitution. I don’t know why there is such a rush when he could make pretty much any change he wants within six months. I also believe Congress and the Supreme Court need to do their job and challenge the Executive Branch rather than kneeling to a new ruler.
Lay off more here:
FDIC EAC FERC (energy), FMC, FRTIB, Peace Corp.
Sallie & Fannie Mae