IRS shakes up leadership ahead of tax season

Internal Revenue Service CEO Frank Bisgnano announced changes in the agency's executive ranks and priorities only a few days before the start of tax season on Jan. 26.

Bisignano, who is also the commissioner leading the Social Security Administration, said in a memo Tuesday to IRS employees that Gary Shapley, who briefly served as acting IRS commissioner last year, would become deputy chief of the IRS's Criminal Investigation division, according to the Associated Press. Shapley had been working in the IRS CI division when he became a whistleblower testifying before Congress in 2023 about the investigation of Hunter Biden's taxes.

IRS CI chief Guy Ficco is retiring, and will be replaced by Jared Koopman, who will become chief tax compliance officer, co-leading the group with Bisgnano. IRS CI special agent Joseph Ziegler, who testified as a whistleblower alongside Shapley in the 2023 congressional hearing about Hunter Biden's taxes and was promoted during the Trump administration to senior advisor to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is being promoted to chief of internal consulting at the IRS. Bessent took over as acting commissioner of the IRS last year after the ouster of former commissioner Billy Long, becoming the seventh commissioner or acting commissioner in the space of a year.

Bisignano announced other leadership changes at the IRS in his memo. "I would like to thank Courtney Kay-Decker for stepping in to lead the Taxpayer Experience Office and John Hinding for his leadership of the Independent Office of Appeals," he wrote. "Both will remain members of my senior leadership team. I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to Guy Ficco for his dedicated service to our nation and his outstanding leadership of the Criminal Investigation Division. With Guy's retirement from federal service, I want to thank Jarod Koopman for stepping into the role of Chief and leading the Division. Jarod will do so alongside Gary Shapley, who will serve as Deputy Chief and will remain on my senior leadership team."

The former chief of the Taxpayer Experience Office is still listed as Fumi Tamaki, according to an IRS web page, but Tamaki's LinkedIn page says she left last November and is now vice president of enterprise transformation at the health insurance company Humana. Kay-Decker, who has been deputy chief of the Taxpayer Experience Office since 2022, will now be chief. 

The new executive leadership team includes:

• Chief of Staff: Carolyn Singh 
• National Taxpayer Advocate: Erin M. Collins 
• Chief, IRS Independent Office of Appeals: David Borden 
• Chief Counsel (Acting): Kenneth Kies 
• Chief, Communications and Liaison: Amy Klonsky 
• Chief, Taxpayer Services: Kenneth C. Corbin 
• Chief Information Officer: Kaschit Pandya 
• Chief, Criminal Investigation: Jarod J. Koopman 
• Chief Tax Compliance Officer: Jarod J. Koopman (co-leading with the CEO) 
• Chief Financial Officer (including Procurement, Facilities, and Privacy): Todd Newnam 
• Chief Risk and Control Officer: Dottie Romo • Chief Human Capital Officer: Alex Kweskin 
• Chief Data and Analytics Officer: Reza Rashidi 
• Chief of Internal Consulting: Joseph A. Ziegler

Bisignano also announced several new priorities for the IRS, including how it tracks taxpayer service, he told the Washington Post. Instead of the previous metrics, it will now keep track of average speed of answer at call centers, call abandonment rate and time spent on the line. The IRS also plans to outsource some of its paper tax return processing by using private contractors to scan and digitize tax returns. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee advanced a bipartisan bill known as the BARCODE Efficiency Act to implement bar code scanning as a way to accelerate the processing of paper tax returns.

In the memo, he described the changes and his focus as CEO on three core priorities: enhancing customer service, improving collections and safeguarding privacy. "At the heart of this vision is a digital-first taxpayer experience, complemented by a strong human touch wherever it is needed," he wrote. "As part of this shift, we are modernizing how we measure service by sunsetting the legacy Customer Service Representative, telephone-based Level of Service metric with enterprise metrics that reflect new technologies and service channels. These updates will allow us to more accurately capture how the IRS serves taxpayers today. Our goal is to deliver the best possible experience for individuals and institutions while strengthening compliance through the same integrated approach."

Other priorities include implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Congress passed last July. Bisignano listed his other priorities:

"• Achieving the best filing season results in timeliness and accuracy; 
• Flawless execution and measurement of OBBB implementation;
• Delivering "One IRS" for the federal government and taxpayers;
• Building a world-class management team;
• Producing quality outcomes in addressing waste, fraud and abuse;
• Creating meaningful management information systems to support strategic capital allocation;
• Delivering double-digit improvements in the appeals process;
• Ensuring taxpayer advocacy fulfills its mission;
• Establishing a durable talent and development framework;
• Exceeding all outward-facing performance metrics, including those reported to Congress; 
• Significantly reducing outstanding audit and control issues;
• Advancing a strong compliance agenda while improving collections beyond historical norms."

However, the IRS will be facing headwinds after the reduction of about 25% of its staff over the past year and now has about 74,000 employees, compared to over 100,000 at the start of last year, as noted in a report by the IRS Advisory Council last week. The IRS has also faced cuts in over half of the $80 billion in funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and further budget cuts are planned for this year.  Under the bipartisan funding legislation that was released last week, the IRS would receive $11.2 billion, a 9% decrease from last year's $12.3 billion, according to CNBC, but that would be a less draconian cut than was originally proposed by House Republicans or the 20% funding cut proposed by the Trump administration. For taxpayer service, the $3 billion allocated would include an increase of $256 million. However, the budget would reduce IRS enforcement funding by $439 million to just under $5 billion.

Bisignano said he is looking forward to this coming filing season with the new leadership team. 

"The continued service and commitment of this leadership team will help drive us forward as we execute this transformational agenda," he wrote. "I am confident that with this new team in place, the IRS is well-prepared to deliver a successful tax filing season for the American public. To the over 74,000 employees of the Internal Revenue Service, thank you for the work you do every day on behalf of the American people. I look forward to what we will accomplish together this tax filing season and beyond."