I.R.S. Unit Tasked with Auditing Billionaires in the U.S. Sees 38% Staff Reduction Since January, Data Reveals
The IRS division responsible for scrutinizing the tax returns of billionaires and other ultra-high-net-worth individuals has experienced a 38% reduction in its workforce since the start of the year, according to fresh data acquired by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). This decline coincides with the Trump administration’s aggressive cuts to federal staffing. The Global High Wealth unit, which started with 353 employees, has faced a significantly higher rate of staff departures than the IRS overall, the figures indicate.
Four current agents from the unit, speaking anonymously, revealed that the staff cuts have resulted in incomplete audits of the super-rich, with many cases either languishing or being terminated prematurely.
This staffing downturn marks a significant setback for the IRS’s recent push to enforce tax compliance among America’s richest, a group known for substantial tax evasion. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act had boosted IRS funding by $80 billion to bolster audits of affluent individuals and big businesses. Yet, Congressional Republicans have since reclaimed half of that amount, and the agency has become a prime focus of the Trump administration’s budget-trimming campaign, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk and D.O.G.E.
The IRS employed about 100,000 people earlier this year. Last month, over 7,000 probationary IRS staff were let go by the Trump administration, with an additional 4,000 to 5,000 reportedly opting for the widely offered buyout scheme.
Now down to 220 staff, the Global High Wealth unit is a small but “elite” IRS group, attracting seasoned agents to tackle complex audits of individuals with tens of millions in income or assets. The unit has been disproportionately affected by recent layoffs, likely due to its focus on hiring under the Biden administration, which left it with many probationary employees, per the new data.
These agents often decode elaborate tax-avoidance schemes crafted by top-tier lawyers and accountants for the wealthy and their investment entities. Consequently, the prior administration prioritized recruiting experts, many of whom, despite their extensive experience in complex tax law, were among the probationary staff cut.
“These are the agents who give the government the biggest bang for its buck,” remarked Duncan Giles, President of National Treasury Employees Union’s Chapter 49, about the unit. “They’re the ones making millions or tens of millions, and in some cases hundreds of millions, in tax adjustments, so that’s less money coming into the treasury.”
The data, reportedly sourced through a records request, shows that about 13% of the unit’s staff reductions came from deferred resignation offers, with the remainder from probationary terminations.
Significant staff losses also hit the unit’s parent group, the Pass-Through Entities Practice Area, down 27% this year. Named for a financial structure often used in elite tax evasion, this office deals with entities like LLCs and trusts that transfer income and tax duties to individuals. Wealthy taxpayers increasingly use these convoluted networks to hide finances and challenge auditors.
The broader Large Business and International Division, encompassing both the high-wealth and pass-through units, oversees audits of corporations, partnerships, and the ultra-rich.
Current high-wealth unit agents depict their teams as nearly incapacitated, grappling with lost personnel, scattered audits, and looming threats of further cuts from the Trump administration. Some predict team mergers due to the staffing crisis.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,“ one current agent shared. “It’s a lucky day for some taxpayers who owe hundreds of thousands or millions to the government.”
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