IRS: “For years, conservative activists have clamored for the ouster of John A. Koskinen, the Internal Revenue Service commissioner, who became a boogeyman for the right amid accusations that the agency was unfairly targeting Republicans.
This week, their wish for his departure will finally be fulfilled. Mr. Koskinen’s term in office ends on Thursday [11-9-17], concluding a tenure in which he sought to stabilize an institution that landed at the center of a political firestorm. But Mr. Koskinen, who spent much of his time on the job sparring with lawmakers at hostile congressional hearings, is leaving on his own terms and, he says, without regret…
His departure, however, will leave an already stretched agency without a permanent leader even as the possibility of the largest tax overhaul in a generation looms. Mr. Koskinen said that he applauded the efforts of Republican lawmakers to simplify the filing process, but that big changes to the tax code would complicate the tax collection process for the agency’s thin staff.
Since 2010, the I.R.S.’s budget has fallen 18 percent, adjusted for inflation, and its enforcement staff has shrunk 23 percent. President Trump has proposed further cuts.”
-Alan Rappeport, “I.R.S. Commissioner, Demonized by Conservatives, Leaves on His Terms,” The New York Times online, Nov. 5, 2017