Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman plans to finish his term on Nov. 9 and will be replaced by Steven T. Miller, deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, as acting commissioner.
Doug Shulman
The IRS said Wednesday that Shulman, the 47th IRS commissioner, has decided to step down on Nov. 9, the last day of his term. Shulman indicated earlier this year that he planned to step down at the end of his term, the IRS noted.
Shulman has served as IRS commissioner since March 24, 2008. Under the law, IRS commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a term of up to five years with their terms ending on Nov. 12 of their final year (Nov. 9 is the last work day of Shulman’s term because Nov. 12 is a federal holiday).
“The IRS team made remarkable progress in the last few years during a challenging period,” Shulman said in a statement. “It has been an honor to serve the American people during this dynamic time.”
Shulman was largely responsible for spearheading a drive to regulate the tax preparer profession. He inaugurated a program to register all paid tax preparers and require competency exams and continuing education. He has also helped modernize the technology used at the IRS and begun the development of a real-time tax filing and processing system.
Miller, who is a 25-year veteran of the IRS, will serve as acting IRS commissioner when Shulman steps down. He has been heavily involved in IRS efforts to crack down on identity theft-related tax fraud.
18 Comments
One of the most important things achieved during Shulman's tenure is bringing ALL return preparers under the auspices of US Treasury Circular 230.
Finally, these unenrolled preparers have to answer to the same standards and regulations as Enrolled Agents, CPAs and attorneys. They will finally have a monetary investment in this profession with training and yearly seminars and registrations.
It's very irritating to have some non-credentialed preparer actually charge MORE than credentialed professionals for returns. When the returns they prepare are audited, they are not even allowed to attend the audit because they have no credentials.
Their poor victims must then either face the IRS alone, or seek help from a credentialed Enrolled Agent, CPA or lawyer. When errors and fraud are discovered, it seldom impacts the non-credentialed preparer - the fines and penalties are paid by the victim alone.
Misdeeds which would cost any credentialed preparer their license have no repercussions for the unenrolled - they have not had anything to lose in the past.
But they will finally join the ranks of those responsible for their actions. January 2013 cannot get here fast enough for me.
Kate Harner, EA
Posted by: KATEHARNER | October 13, 2012 3:54 PM
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Most certainly the new requirements will remove the dishonest. As we all know, all lawyers, all CPAs and all enrolled agents are honest and therefore not subject to the new requirements. Only those few (330,000) are suspicious characters and should be dealt with accordingly. Line them up and search their cavities. They may be hiding a loophole and we know how bad that is. Everything will be so much better for everyone when they are gone and only real professionals are allowed to practice. The government will be much better off and those who remain will feel so much better about themselves as they won't look bad any longer. It's a win-win situation.
Posted by: hisexcellency | October 12, 2012 12:46 PM
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Hopefully the RTRP exam and the CPE requirements will not only remove the dishonest preparers, some who cheat only a little (like being a little bit pregnant), but also the sizable number of incompetents. I find it amazing how little many successful practitioners know. And I do not claim to be the smartest one on the block. And I'm being polite.
Posted by: tego@verizon.net | October 11, 2012 10:23 PM
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I believe the legal date for the expiration of the current IRS Commissioner's term is November 13, 2012.
He is apparently being accused of "jumping ship" four days early because he is kind enough to allow his successor to move personal mementos into the office over his last weekend instead of everybody rushing around on Monday Nov 12.
This Bush appointee has done a remarkable job over his five-year term. I had serious doubts when Bush Jr re-named the position "commissioner" instead of the historic "director," but I have been more than satisfied with his performance during a stressful period. His successor will have large shoes to fill.
I am especially happy about the billions of dollars brought in by the new Large Corporate Collection Unit at the IRS - the hot new department that all agents are dying to transfer into. So far, they have collected (by TIGTA calculations) $8.4 billion, mostly from overseas banks, shipping lines, and oil sheiks.
Happy trails, Doug.
Kate Harner, EA
Posted by: KATEHARNER | October 11, 2012 6:30 PM
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I have mixed feelings about RTRP. First of all, it will do NOTHING as far as competency level. This job is mostly learn by doing. Passing an additional competency test after completing a 60 hour tax course will NOT make preparers do "better". All it will do is potentially weed out those who are not legally authorized to prepare for the public. There will STILL be those who will hang out a fraudulent shingle. It's just a matter of when/if they will be caught. I've reported three within the last three months. Who knows if anything will be done about them. Those who are scared of being fined/jailed will hang it up of course...as will those who are about to retire anyway. Naturally, those close to the end of their careers won't bother to waste their time or money on RTRP exam regardless of the "minimal competency" aspect to it. If they are going to retire, why not do it now instead of in two or three years. Naturally many seasoned veterans will just jump ship now. I would. Those who plan to continue to practice, if they are not yet RTRPs will gag it down and take the test. Concerns about them leaving are highly exaggerated. This is just another money maker for IRS/Prometric..whatever their arrangement is.
Posted by: andystaxes | October 11, 2012 4:23 PM
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George Bush? I thought we were discussing Shulman. Bush AND Obama spent us into bankrupcy. Bush & Obama got us to where we are and we let them. We all voted for them. They BOTH redistribute our wealth in their own way and along the way end up with a lot of it themselves. And they want to be sure we have ethics? Anyway. Our industry cannot afford to lose tens of thousands of preparers. Nor can the IRS. A release from the IRS stated that "the vast majority are highly professional and committed to doing a good job". This is just a bad plan and not a solution. They make bad plans everyday. If you are following we get more information daily on how this isn't working. Statistics are astounding; of the TARGETED 330,000, 220,000 prepare less than 100 returns. A "high percentage of the most experienced are elder". That combination is lethal for compliance in 2014. I wish us all luck. A little prayer would also be suitable. However, this is all moot if the world ends this December.
Posted by: hisexcellency | October 11, 2012 3:40 PM
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I owe Mr. Shulman four years of sleepless nights and more than 10.000 dollars consultation when suddenly he considered me a criminal for not knowing about FBARS while living and working abroad. Thanks.
Posted by: Outsider | October 11, 2012 3:39 PM
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Mr. Shulman's suppposed victory over tax evaders (some 33,000 taxpayers and over $4.2bn collected) is a fraudulent claim. How many of these were innocent Americans abroad and immigrants in the homeland who were unaware of FBAR? FBAR fines and penalties are not taxes, nor are these taxpayers the ones who are purposely evading taxes. Shame on Congress, the IRS and Mr Shulman for carrying out this charade. As others have stated,this is responsible for the large number of Americans renouncing and someday, this will come back to haunt Mr. Shulman. Is this really something to be proud of?
Other components of his legacy? The bait and switch of OVDP 2009/FAQ 35. His refusal to respond to Nina Olson's rare Taxpayer Advocate Directive speaks volumes. Banks in Europe regularly closing USC accounts and refusing to open new ones. Privacy laws of other countries trampled on. Just great.
Good riddance Mr. Shulman.
Posted by: nobledreamer | October 11, 2012 3:23 PM
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Leaving just before full implementation of the RTRP process. Leaving just before the need to enforce the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare. Sounds like good timing to me.
Posted by: gsojohn@gmail.com | October 11, 2012 3:22 PM
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Although he did not write the laws, the way he has enforced them against US citizens who legitamately live and work outside of the United States has left many with the choice of returning to the US or renouncing their US citizenship, which many are doing in record nombers. The burden of being subject simultaneously to the tax laws of the country where you live and those of the United States on the same income has made it impossible, in many if not most cases, for a US citizen to live and work abroad. Banks abroad are refusing and closing accounts to persons with US citizenship. Being a dual citizen of that foreign country does not help. If you are an American, even if you were born abroad to one US parent, have never held a US passport or never even once stepped foot in the United States, you are persona-non-grata. And don't ever dream of having a joint account with or owning property jointly with a foreign citizen spouse or the foreign spouse will be subject to all of the US tax reporting obligations just like a US citizen. Even though the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credits abroad may totally offset your US tax obligation, you are still obligated to pay thousands of dollars in professional tax consultant fees just to make sure that tyour FBAR, FATCA, etc. reports are letter perfect, or the IRS will subject you to penalties which are so severre that you will be financially destroyed. The instructions which foreign banks must fullow in reporting all accounts they hold with US persons abroad are 388 pages, and are still in draft form. No wonder foreign banks want nothing to do with US persons.
And nobody in Washington seems able to understand why the US stands virtually alone among the developed nations with a horrencdous and totally out-of-control foreign trade deficit and is in 192nd place on the World Country balalnce of payments list. That is right: The US is in last place at the very bottom of tis list.
Posted by: RogerC | October 11, 2012 1:54 PM
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Significantly cutting down on the number of bad tax return preparers is one of the best things that could have happened.
Posted by: Kingfish | October 11, 2012 1:52 PM
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He may very well have been the worst commissioner the IRS has ever had. Onthe other hand, he makes it possible for me to make a living.
Posted by: joeltaxpro | October 11, 2012 1:34 PM
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Doug Shulman certainly helped me to see the world from a completely different angle. By being unable to open up a bank account simply because of my US nationality, I'm beginning to wonder why I'm still a US citizen, especially considering that my US representation has not responded to any of my letters, helping me to see that Americans living abroad have no representation. It could very well be that I would have never considered renouncing if Doug Shulman had never stressed the need for that option in order for Americans abroad to have a basic local checking account.
Posted by: ExpatAmi | October 11, 2012 12:34 PM
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Good Riddance. His application of #FBAR penalties for Americans abroad having an offshore account with his OVDI jihads and FATCA as done more damage than any one single action any other previous IRS commissioner. Rather than improving Expat compliance, it is pushing the highest level Citizenship renouncing in America's history.
I am sure he will soon find a high paid attorney job advising some well heeled victims of his ill designed offshore policies. Isn't that how it works at the revolving door between Treasury and the big DC Accounting and Attorney firms?
Or, maybe he will join some private DC lobbying firm advising FFIs how to circumvent the FATCANATICS, of which he was one, and find a way around those hopelessly complex 388 pages of regulations, or find some deemed compliant IGA loophole.
Better yet, why not pay off some Republican Senator to slip an amendment into some unrelated bill in the dead of night,(like FATCA) designed to help a very narrow sliver of the financial world cope with this extra territorial disaster while the minnows amongst us continue to be ground up as fish fertilizer and denied normal banking services where they live.
Great legacy! And I haven't even mentioned what he did to the tax preparation community, or how he allowed ITIN child credit fraud of unimaginable proportions fester right under his myopic homeland eyes, stained as they were peering far away across borders offshore looking for mythical revenue salvation for the U.S. deficit.
Of course, he is leaving a protege in place, in Stephen Miller, who will just continue these misguided tax policies under whatever administration the fickle populace vote for this year. As a non partisan, I am beginning to have a lot of sympathy for the Libertarian view that the IRS should be abolished, but of course, their candidate never gets a chance to have their voice heard in any presidential debate.
So it goes.
Posted by: Just Me | October 11, 2012 12:13 PM
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I think the outgoing commissioner did a fantastic job by imposing the RTRP exams. The field of tax preparation has too many unscrupulous praparers today; making us all look bad. What the commissioner did can only better our frofession.
Posted by: sekbam1 | October 11, 2012 10:51 AM
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Just back from an IRS/WI working together seminar. Many preparers are leaving the profession after 2013. The IRS is begging preparers to schedule their RTRP exams, some 800,000 of them. I don't think it's a problem of taking the exam, it will be a problem of preparer shortages. Disaster looms.
Posted by: Taxpreparer | October 11, 2012 10:00 AM
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Interesting theory. However, Commissioner Shulman was surprisingly appointed by G. W. Bush.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/business/douglas-shulman-head-of-the-internal-revenue-service-to-step-down.html?_r=0
Posted by: jxdillinger | October 11, 2012 9:33 AM
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After turning the tax preparation industry inside-out he wisely is choosing to leave. Just like Dave Williams, he is smart enough to see that his idea is not going to work and it is going to cause irreparable damage to compliance and the industry. With the upcoming change in administration he probably figures he should look for another job sooner than later. Hopefully he finds a job in the private sector so he can cause less damage to the United States of America. Unfortunately the nation, the industry, and the taxpayers will suffer the consequences of his poorly devised plan to control tax preparers.
Posted by: hisexcellency | October 11, 2012 9:23 AM
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