WASHINGTON, D.C. – One week after Tax Day, American taxpayers are still gravely concerned about the threat posed by Democrats’ supercharged IRS. During a hearing on accountability and transparency at the IRS, House Ways and Means members questioned IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel about the agency’s commitment to protect whistleblowers, its failure to spell out its plan to spend billions of taxpayer dollars, and a lack of protections for working-class Americans from an increase in audits. Below are edited excerpts of exchanges during the hearing.
Chairman Smith Demands Protections for All IRS Whistleblowers
Recently, an IRS whistleblower contacted the Ways and Means Committee with troubling claims about abuses of power. While the Committee continues to review this matter, Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) demanded Commissioner Werfel pledge that there will be no retaliation taken against this whistleblower.
Chairman Smith: “As we discussed previously, we set up an online whistleblower portal for IRS personnel wishing to share information with the Committee. I continue to urge you to let your employees know about the portal. I believe it will encourage agency personnel who witnessed wrongdoing to come forward. And just this last week, we received outreach from an IRS whistleblower requesting the Committee look into concerns the individual has about allegations of misconduct. Can you commit that there will be no retaliation against that whistleblower?”
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