Internal Revenue Service
IRS
Agency overview
Formed	1862 (though the name originates from 1918)
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Employees	106,000 (2010)
Agency executive	Commissioner, Douglas H. Shulman
Parent agency	Department of the Treasury
Website
IRS.gov

Internal Revenue Service Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C..

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code.

Summary[link]

The IRS has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and does most of its computer programming in Maryland. It currently operates five service centers around the country (in Austin, TX; Cincinnati, OH; Fresno, CA; Kansas City, MO; and Ogden, UT), at which returns sent by mail are received. These centers do the actual tax processing; different types of returns are processed at the various centers (with some centers processing individual returns and others processing business returns). The IRS also operates three computer centers around the country (in Detroit, Michigan; Martinsburg, West Virginia; and Memphis, Tennessee).^[1]

History[link]

American Civil War (1861–65)[link]

In July 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln and Congress created the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue and enacted a temporary income tax to pay war expenses (see Revenue Act of 1862). The position of Commissioner exists today as the head of the Internal Revenue Service.

The Revenue Act of 1862 was passed as an emergency and temporary war-time tax. It copied a relatively new British system of income taxation, instead of trade and property taxation. The first income tax was passed in 1861:

• The initial rate was 3% on income over $800, which exempted most wage-earners.
• In 1862 the rate was 3% on income between $600 and $10,000, and 5% on income over $10,000.
• In 1864 the rate was 5% on income between $600 and $5,000; 7.5% on income $5,000–$10,000; and 10% on income $10,000 and above.

By the end of the war, 10% of Union households had paid some form of income tax, and the Union raised 21% of its war revenue through income taxes.^[2]

Post Civil War, Reconstruction, and popular tax reform (1866–1900)[link]

After the Civil War, Reconstruction, railroads, and transforming the North and South war machines towards peacetime required public funding. However, in 1872, seven years after the war, lawmakers allowed the temporary Civil War income tax to expire.

Income taxes evolved, but in 1894 the Supreme Court declared the Income Tax of 1894 unconstitutional in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.. The federal government scrambled to raise money.^[3]

In 1906, with the election of President Theodore Roosevelt, and later his successor William Howard Taft, the United States saw a populist movement for tax reform. This movement culminated in February, 1913, with the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution:

This granted Congress the specific power to impose an income tax without regard to apportionment among the states by population. By February 1913, 36 states had ratified the change to the Constitution. It was further ratified by six more states by March. Of the 48 states at the time, 42 ratified it. Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Utah rejected the amendment; Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida did not take up the issue.^[4]

A copy of the very first IRS 1040 form, dated 1913, can be found at the IRS website^[5] showing that only those with incomes of $3,000 (adjusted for inflation, the equivalent of $68,612 in 2011) or more were instructed to file.

The IRS reinvents itself (1913–1970)[link]

People filing tax forms in 1920.

In the first year after ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment, no taxes were collected--instead, taxpayers simply completed the form and the IRS checked it for accuracy. The IRS's workload jumped by ten-fold, triggering a massive restructuring. Professional tax collectors began to replace a system of "patronage" appointments. The IRS doubled its staff, but was still processing 1917 returns in 1919. ^[6]

Presidential tax returns (1973)[link]

From the 1950s through the 1970s, the IRS began using technology such as microfilm to keep and organize records. Access to this information proved controversial, when President Richard Nixon's tax returns were leaked to the public. His tax advisor, Edward L. Morgan, became the fourth law-enforcement official to be charged with a crime during Watergate.^[7]

John Requard. Jr., accused of leaking the documents, collected delinquent taxes in the slums of Washington. In his words:

We went after people for nickels and dimes, many of them poor and in many cases illiterate people who didn't know how to deal with a government agency.

He admits he saw the returns, but denies he leaked them. When asked if he would have leaked the documents, he said: "I probably would have said, 'Yes, I'm in'."^[8]

Reporter Jack White of The Providence Journal, won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting about Nixon's tax returns. Nixon, with a salary of $200,000, paid $792.81 in federal income tax in 1970 and $878.03 in 1971, with deductions of $571,000 for donating "vice-presidential papers".^[9] This was one of the reasons for his famous statement: "Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got."

So controversial was this leak, that most later US Presidents released their tax returns (though sometimes only partially). These returns can be found online at the Tax History Project.

Modernization and the Internet (1970–present)[link]

After microfilm, the 1960s onward saw massive computerization efforts.

In 1995, the IRS began to use the public Internet for electronic filing. Since the introduction of e-filing, self-paced online tax services have flourished, augmenting and sometimes replacing tax accountants to prepare returns.

In 2003, the IRS struck a deal with tax software vendors:

• The IRS would not develop online filing software.
• In return, software vendors would provide free e-filing to most Americans.^[10]

In 2009, 70% of filers qualified for free electronic filing of federal returns.^[11]

In 2010, more than 66% (98 million) of tax returns are expected to be filed electronically.

History of the IRS name[link]

As early as the year 1918, the Bureau of Internal Revenue began using the name "Internal Revenue Service" on at least one tax form.^[12] In 1953, the name change to the "Internal Revenue Service" was formalized in Treasury Decision 6038.^[13]

Current organization[link]

The 1980s saw a reorganization of the IRS. A bipartisan commission was created with several mandates, among them to increase customer service and improve collections.^[14] Congress later enacted the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.^[15]

As a result of that Act, the IRS now functions under four major operating divisions: Large Business and International division (LB&I), the Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) division, the Wage and Investment (W&I) division, and Tax Exempt & Government Entities (TE/GE) division. Effective October 1, 2010, the name of the Large and Mid-Size Business division changed to the Large Business & International (LB&I) division.^[16] The IRS also includes a criminal law enforcement division (IRS Criminal Investigation Division). While there is some evidence that customer service has improved, lost tax revenues in 2001 were over $323 billion.^[17]

Commissioner[link]

Douglas H. Shulman is the current Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

Taxpayer Advocates[link]

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, also called the Taxpayer Advocate Service, is an independent office within the IRS responsible for assisting taxpayers in resolving their problems with the IRS, as well as identifying systemic problems that exist within the IRS. The current United States Taxpayer Advocate, also known as the National Taxpayer Advocate, is Nina E. Olson.

Tax collection statistics[link]

New York City field office for the IRS.

Summary of Collections before Refunds by Type of Return, Fiscal Year 2007^[18]

For fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Congress appropriated spending of approximately $12.624 billion of "discretionary budget authority" to operate the Department of the Treasury, of which $11.522 billion was allocated to the IRS. The projected estimate of the budget for the IRS for fiscal year 2011 was $12.633 billion.^[19] By contrast, during Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, the IRS collected more than $2.2 trillion in tax (net of refunds), about 44 percent of which was attributable to the individual income tax. This is partially due to the nature of the individual income tax category, containing taxes collected from working class, small business, self employed, and capital gains. The top 5% of income earners pay 38.284% of the federal tax collected.^[20][21]

Recently, the IRS has altered its policies. The current Service plus Enforcement equals Compliance motto mirrors its recent increase in investigations of abusive tax schemes.

As of 2007, the agency estimates that the United States Treasury is owed $354 billion more than the amount the IRS collects.^[22]

In 2011, 234 million tax returns were filed allowing the IRS to collect $2.4 trillion out of which $384 billion were attributed to mistake or fraud. ^[23]

Outsourcing collection and tax-assistance[link]

In September 2006, the IRS started to outsource the collection of taxpayers debts to private debt collection agencies. Opponents to this change note that the IRS will be handing over personal information to these debt collection agencies, who are being paid between 29% and 39% of the amount collected. Opponents are also worried about the agencies' being paid on percent collected, because it will encourage the collectors to use pressure tactics to collect the maximum amount. IRS spokesman Terry Lemons responds to these critics saying the new system "is a sound, balanced program that respects taxpayers' rights and taxpayer privacy." Other state and local agencies also use private collection agencies.^[24]

In March 2009, the IRS announced that it would no longer outsource the collection of taxpayers debts to private debt collection agencies. The IRS decided not to renew contracts to private debt collection agencies, and began a hiring program at its call sites and processing centers across the country to bring on more personnel to process collections internally from taxpayers. As of October 2009, the IRS has ceased using private debt collection agencies.

In September 2009, after undercover exposé videos of questionable activities by staff of one of the IRS's volunteer tax-assistance organizations were made public, the IRS removed ACORN from its volunteer tax-assistance program.^[25]

Administrative functions[link]

The IRS publishes tax forms which taxpayers are required to choose from and use for calculating and reporting their federal tax obligations. The IRS also publishes a number of forms for its own internal operations, such as Forms 3471 and 4228 (which are used during the initial processing of income tax returns).

In addition to collection of revenue and pursuing tax cheaters, the IRS issues administrative rulings such as revenue rulings and private letter rulings. In addition the Service publishes the Internal Revenue Bulletin containing the various IRS pronouncements. The controlling authority of regulations and revenue rulings allows taxpayers to rely on them. A private letter ruling is good for the taxpayer to whom it is issued, and gives some explanation of the Service's position on a particular tax issue.^[26]

As is the case with all administrative pronouncements, taxpayers sometimes litigate the validity of the pronouncements, and courts sometimes determine a particular rule to be invalid where the agency has exceeded its grant of authority. The IRS also issues formal pronouncements called Revenue Procedures, that among other things tell taxpayers how to correct prior tax errors. The IRS's own internal operations manual is the Internal Revenue Manual, which describes the clerical procedures for processing and auditing tax returns in excruciating detail. For example, the IRM contains a special procedure for processing the tax returns of the President and Vice President of the United States.^[27]

More formal rulemaking to give the Service's interpretation of a statute, or when the statute itself directs that the Secretary of the Treasury shall provide, IRS undergoes the formal regulation process with a Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register announcing the proposed regulation, the date of the in-person hearing, and the process for interested parties to have their views heard either in person at the hearing in Washington, D.C., or by mail. Following the statutory period provided in the Administrative Procedure Act the Service decides on the final regulations "as is," or as reflecting changes, or sometimes withdraws the proposed regulations. Generally, taxpayers may rely on proposed regulations until final regulations become effective. For example, human resource professionals are relying on the October 4, 2005 Proposed Regulations^[28] (citation 70 F.R. 57930-57984)^[29] for the Section 409A on deferred compensation (the so-called Enron rules on deferred compensation to add teeth to the old rules) because regulations have not been finalized.

Criticism[link]

Allegations of abuse[link]

The IRS has on more than one occasion been accused of abusive behavior.^{[30][31][32][33]} Testimony was given before a Senate subcommittee that focused on cases of overly aggressive IRS collection tactics in considering a need for legislation to give taxpayers greater protection in disputes with the agency.

A statement given in hearings before the Senate Finance Committee criticized the IRS:

[D]oes the IRS correct abuses when they become aware of them? Oftentimes, they do. However, the more important question is, does the IRS cover up occurrences of abuse? The answer is, yes! If the true number of incidences of taxpayer abuse were ever known, the public would be appalled. If the public also ever knew the number of abuses 'covered up' by the IRS, there could be a tax revolt.^[30]

Congress passed the Taxpayer Bill of Rights III on July 22, 1998, which shifted the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the IRS in certain limited situations. The IRS retains the legal authority to enforce liens and seize assets without obtaining judgment in court.^[34]

Michael Minns was the defense lawyer in a case against the IRS on behalf of James and Pamela Moran, after an initial indictment in what Minns asserts was an IRS smear campaign that virtually canvassed the taxpayers' own hometown and surrounding area.^[35] The original indictment was associated with the Morans' involvement with a tax shelter provider, Anderson's Ark & Associates. The Morans were eventually acquitted in the case.^[36]

Minns also had previously asserted that the behavior of two IRS attorneys at law, Kenneth McWade and William A. Sims, constituted legal misconduct and recommended them for disbarment. Following an investigation, the law licenses of the IRS attorneys were duly suspended for a two-year period after a federal court ruling found that the two had indeed defrauded the courts in connection with 1,300 tax shelter cases. In 2003, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded that the IRS lawyers had corruptly agreed with certain taxpayers that no tax collection actions would be taken against them—in return for testimony against other taxpayers. The court also asked why the IRS had not punished the two.^[37]

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Davis, Shelley L.; Matalin, Mary (1997). Unbridled Power: Inside the Secret Culture of the IRS. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-88730-829-5. 
• Johnston, David Cay (2003). Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich—and Cheat Everybody Else. New York: Portfolio. ISBN 1-59184-019-8. 
• Rossotti, Charles O. (2005). Many Unhappy Returns: One Man's Quest To Turn Around The Most Unpopular Organization In America. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press. ISBN 1-59139-441-4. 
• Roth, William V., Jr.; Nixon, William H. (1999). The Power to Destroy. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-748-8. 

External links[link]

• Official website

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Megyn Marie Kelly (born November 18, 1970), formerly known as Megyn Kendall,^[1] is an American journalist and news anchor employed by the Fox News Channel. Kelly currently hosts America Live from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EST live from the network’s New York City headquarters. She occasionally also co-hosts on America's Newsroom along with Bill Hemmer during the Fox Channel Network's Morning Line-Up at 10:00 AM EST. Since 2007, the two have hosted Fox News Channel's New Year's Eve special every year.

Personal life and education[link]

Kelly was nine years of age when her parents moved to Delmar, New York from Syracuse, New York. At Bethlehem Central High School, she played on the basketball and field hockey teams, as well as captaining the cheerleading squad. Kelly's father, who was on the staff of the University at Albany, died when she was 15.^[2] After high school, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Syracuse University and later pursued a J.D. from Albany Law School; she served as an associate editor of the Albany Law Review while enrolled at Albany Law School.^[3][4][5] Kelly's first marriage to Daniel Kendall, an anesthesiologist, ended in divorce in 2006.^[6][7] In 2008 she married Douglas Brunt, the President and CEO of Authentium, at Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York.^[8] They have two children: Edward Yates Brunt (September 25, 2009) and Yardley Evans Brunt (April 15, 2011).^[9][10]

Career in law[link]

Following her graduation from Albany Law School in 1995^[11], Kelly practiced law for nine years at Jones Day^[12] She first worked as an associate in the Chicago office of Bickel & Brewer LLP during which the time when she co-wrote an article for the American Bar Association's Litigation journal entitled "The Conflicting Roles of Lawyer as Director."^[13]

Career in journalism[link]

Kelly moved to Washington, D.C. where she was hired by the ABC News affiliate WJLA-TV as a General Assignment Reporter.^[14] While at WJLA-TV she covered significant national and local events including major national events such as the 2004 Presidential Election and the D.C. Sniper cases.^[15] She then applied for a job at Fox Entertainment Group in 2004.^[15] Prior to her anchor role on the Fox News Network she served as a General Assignment Reporter located in Washington D.C where she provided live coverage of the confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Chief Justice John Roberts; she reported on the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.^[15]

Kelly contributed legal segments for Special Report with Brit Hume and hosted her own legal segment, "Kelly's Court," during Weekend Live; she frequently appears on The O'Reilly Factor and occasionally fills in for Greta Van Susteren on On the Record. Most of her reporting focused on legal and political matters. At this time she occasionally contributed as an anchor but she was often stationed as a substitute anchor, mostly on the weekends.^[16] On February 1, 2010, Kelly hosted her own show, America Live, replacing Fox News’ previous show The Live Desk co-hosted by Martha MacCallum and Trace Gallagher. In turn, MacCallum took Kelly's position on America’s Newsroom. She has been a regular guest-panelist on Fox News' late-night satire program Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. Kelly's "America Live" program has been up 20% in total viewers (averaging 1,293,000) and up 4% in the 25–54 demographic (averaging 268,000).^[17] On November 23 Megyn Kelly made the following statement about a Police officer who had used pepper spray on protestors at UC Davis: "It's a food product, essentially", this episode was satirized on Funny or Die, and also went on to generate an Internet Meme.^[18][19][20]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bio on FoxNews.com
• Megyn Kelly at the Internet Movie Database
• Megyn Kelly on Twitter

Trey Gowdy
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Bob Inglis
Solicitor for South Carolina's 7th Judicial Circuit
In office 2000–2011
Succeeded by	Holman Gossett
Personal details
Born	Harold Watson Gowdy III (1964-08-22) August 22, 1964 (age 47) Greenville, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Terri Dillard Gowdy
Children	Watson and Abigail
Residence	Spartanburg, South Carolina
Alma mater	Baylor University University of South Carolina School of Law
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Baptist
Website	treygowdy.com

Harold Watson "Trey" Gowdy III (born August 22, 1964) is the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 4th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before his election to Congress, he was the solicitor (district attorney) for the state's Seventh Judicial Circuit, comprising Spartanburg and Cherokee counties.

Early life and education[link]

He was born in 1964 in Greenville, South Carolina, the son of Novalene (née Evans) and Dr. Harold Watson "Hal" Gowdy, Jr.^[1][2] Trey graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1982. He earned a B.A. in history from Baylor University in 1986 and a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1989.

Judicial career[link]

Following law school, he clerked for the late John P. Gardner on the South Carolina Court of Appeals and United States District Court Judge Ross Anderson. He then went into private practice before becoming a federal prosecutor in April 1994. He was awarded the Postal Inspector’s Award for the successful prosecution of J. Mark Allen, one of “America’s Most Wanted” suspects.

In February 2000, he left the United States Attorney’s Office to run for 7th Circuit Solicitor. He defeated incumbent Solicitor Holman Gossett^[3] in the Republican primary. No other party even put up a candidate, ensuring his election in November. He was reelected in 2004 and 2008, both times completely unopposed. During his tenure, he appeared on “Forensic Files” twice, as well as Dateline NBC and SCETV.^[4]

When the state faced a budget crunch that forced many employees to go on unpaid furloughs, Gowdy funneled part of his campaign account into the solicitor's budget so his staff could keep working.^[5]

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Elections[link]

2010

In the summer of 2009, Gowdy announced that he would challenge incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman Bob Inglis in the Republican primary for South Carolina's 4th congressional district. Inglis, who got a 93% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, angered the conservative wing of the Republican party by supporting cap and trade as a result of his belief that global warming is man made.^[6] He drew five Republican challengers, and Gowdy was one of them. In the June 2010 primary, Gowdy ranked first getting 39% of the vote, short of the 50% majority threshold to win outright and avoid a run-off. Inglis obtained just 27% of the vote. Jim Lee got 14%, State Senator David Thomas got 13% of the vote, and Christina Fawcett ranked last with 7% of the vote.^[7][8]

In the run-off election, Gowdy defeated Inglis 70%-30%.^[9] The 4th is so heavily Republican that it was widely presumed Gowdy had assured himself of a seat in Congress.^[10] Gowdy defeated Democratic nominee Paul Corden 63%-29%.^[11]

2012

Gowdy is running for re-election to a second term in the newly redrawn South Carolina's 4th congressional district. No one has filed to run against him so far. Gowdy was slightly disappointed because a large part of Spartanburg County, his home county, was eliminated out of his district. But he was overall satisfied because more Republicans were put into the district. Roll Call rated his district as Safe Republican in 2012.^[12]

Tenure[link]

Gowdy considers himself to be a staunch conservative. During his short tenure in congress, Gowdy has been in a feud with Republican U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner and in early 2012 he stopped going to House Republican Conference meetings. Gowdy commented on Boehner's leadership, saying "there's no use to having the majority if you are going to be hamstrung by your perception of political vicissitudes."^[13]

In December 2011, he told Congressional Quarterly that “I just think when you’re dealing with the Constitution you should have as much clarity as you can."^[5][14] In August 2011 during the 2011 United States debt ceiling crisis, Gowdy said Boehner "has done the best job he can negotiating with himself, which is what he's been doing for the past six months. But you've got to vote the conscience of your constituents."^[15] In March 2012, Gowdy said “It’s a numbers thing. I don’t criticize Boehner for it. He can move to the right and try to pass it out of the House, or you can move to the center and try to pass it (in the U.S. Senate).”^[16] In 2012, he was awarded by the conservative Club for Growth as a Defender of Economic Freedom. It's awarded to the members of congress who have the year's highest ranking. Gowdy scored 97 out of 100. He was one of only 34 congressmen given the award.^[17]

Gowdy considers himself "pro-life plus", meaning that he believes "in the sanctity of life" and that "the strategy should be broader than waiting for the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade."^[18]

Trey Gowdy signed the Contract From America, which aims to "Defund, repeal and replace the recently passed government-run health care".^[19][20]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Education and the Workforce
  • Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs

Personal life[link]

Gowdy and his wife Terri have two children: Watson and Abigail. Terri Dillard Gowdy is a teacher's aide in Spartanburg School District 7. Gowdy has three sisters, 4 nieces, and 4 nephews.^[21]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Congressman Trey Gowdy official U.S. House site
• Trey Gowdy for Congress official campaign site
• Profile at Spartanburg County Government site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs