(The Lion) — The IRS may cut up to half of its workforce, offering Americans a different kind of “tax relief.”
The cuts are part of President Donald Trump’s plan to downsize the federal government, getting rid of wasteful spending and bureaucratic excess, including through the newly created Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk.
Sources within the Internal Revenue Service confirmed to the Associated Press Tuesday that a plan is in the works to eliminate as many as 45,000 employees through buyouts, attrition and layoffs. The proposal, which is due March 13, would have to be approved by the White House, which seems favorable to it.
Since Trump took office, the tax-collecting agency cut 7,000 probationary employees, who are workers with one year of experience or less. And the Department of Homeland Security has asked to borrow IRS employees to help with its immigration enforcement efforts, AP reports.
While seven former IRS commissioners raised concerns in the New York Times this month that cuts would “only render our government less effective and less efficient in collecting the taxes Congress has imposed,” potential reductions would come after former President Joe Biden expanded the department during his term.
The department planned to add 30,000 workers between 2023 and 2025, but Trump’s efforts could reverse any gains. Approximately 10,000 were added in 2023, bringing the department to its current total of 90,000 employees, but Trump’s move could block any future expansion and downsize the existing corps.
Government defenders say more employees means more revenue, helping the IRS collect taxes it might have otherwise missed, but Trump has campaigned on getting rid of government excess. He has also implemented tariffs, and Howard Lutnick, his commerce secretary, said last month the administration’s long-term plan is to generate enough revenue from tariffs to be able to eliminate the IRS.
“His goal is to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay,” Lutnick said during Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” the New York Post reported.
The tax-collecting agency may also be an easier target for cuts than other departments since very few people celebrate paying taxes.
The White House sent a memo to federal agencies late last month asking them to draft plans to reduce their workforce. The plans are due next Thursday.
