Commissioner of Internal Revenue

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue (or IRS Commissioner) is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),[1] a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury.[2]

The office of Commissioner was created by Congress by the Revenue Act of 1862.[3] The Commissioner is appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, for a five year term.[4]

Contents

Responsibilities

The Commissioner's duties include administering, managing, conducting, directing, and supervising "the execution and application of the internal revenue laws or related statutes and tax conventions to which the United States is a party" and advising the President on the appointment and removal of a Chief Counsel of the IRS. Treasury Order 150-10 states in relevant part: "The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws."[5] The Commissioner reports to the Secretary of the Treasury through the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.[6]

One of the Commissioner's most important responsibilities with respect to the internal revenue laws involves prescribing Treasury Regulations administered by the IRS. The U.S. Treasury Regulations provide (in part):

(a) Issuance. --The Commissioner, with the approval of the United States Secretary of the Treasury, or his delegate, shall prescribe all needful rules and all rules and regulations as may be necessary by reason of any alteration of law in relation to internal revenue.[7]

However, the General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury has "the authority to approve all regulations pertaining to the internal revenue laws, including the authority to ratify and approve, where necessary, any such regulations previously issued."[8]

By law the Commissioner is also part of the "Federal law enforcement community."[9]

Current and past commissioners

The following lists Commissioners of Internal Revenue, in chronological order:[10]

Nomination for new Commissioner

On November 21, 2007, President George W. Bush announced that he was nominating Douglas H. Shulman of the District of Columbia to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Shulman was then Vice Chairman of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Shulman received a bachelor's degree from Williams College, a master's degree from Harvard University, and a law degree from Georgetown University.[13] Shulman was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 14, 2008.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ See generally 26 U.S.C. § 7803.
  2. ^ 26 C.F.R. section 601.101(a).
  3. ^ Act of July 1, 1862, Ch. CXIX, 12 Stat. 432.
  4. ^ 26 U.S.C. § 7803.
  5. ^ Treasury Order 150-10, Delegation--Responsibility for Internal Revenue Laws, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (April 22, 1982), at [1].
  6. ^ Treasury Order 101-05, Reporting Relationships and Supervision of Officials, Offices and Bureaus, and Delegation of Certain Authority in the Department of the Treasury, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Feb. 19, 2008), at [2].
  7. ^ 26 C.F.R. § 301.7805-1.
  8. ^ Treasury Order 107-03, Regulations Pertaining to the Internal Revenue Law, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Jan. 30, 1978), at [3].
  9. ^ 42 U.S.C. § 10502(2)(D).
  10. ^ Internal Revenue Service Data Book 2003, accessed 9/13/2007 from http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/03databk.pdf.
  11. ^ George Jones, CCH News Staff, CCH 2007 TaxDay, Stiff Starts as Acting IRS Commissioner, Item #I.6 (Sept. 21, 2007).
  12. ^ Official IRS Web Site, Commissioner of Internal Revenue Douglas Shulman (Mar. 24, 2008)
  13. ^ Personnel Announcement, Nov. 21, 2007, The White House, Washington, D.C. at [4].
  14. ^ Associated Press, Shulman Confirmed As IRS Commissioner (Mar. 14, 2008)

References