IRS takes steps to protect identity of workers in effort to deter personal threats

May 11, 2023, 12:20 PM

FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, on March 22, 2013...

FILE - The exterior of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, on March 22, 2013. In an effort to stop personal threats aimed at IRS employees, the agency says it will start limiting the workers’ personal identifying information on communications with taxpayers. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an effort to deter threats aimed at IRS employees, the agency said Thursday it will start limiting workers’ personal identifying information on communications with taxpayers.

The change begins next month.

The Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration said in a report this week that it was “concerned that taxpayers and anti-government or anti-tax groups with malevolent intent may use the Internet or social media to track down and identify IRS employees, their families, their homes, and personal information to threaten, intimidate, or locate them for physical violence.”

The IRS said it will remove workers’ first names from communications, leaving their last names and respective Mr., Ms., or a gender-neutral title. Phone numbers will still be included in communications.

The decision comes as the agency has received increased attention after the climate, health care and tax legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden last year included $80 billion funding for tax collection efforts.

Since then, misinformation has spread online, including by Republican lawmakers, that 87,000 armed agents authorized to use deadly force were going to crack down on taxpayers of all earnings levels.

In August, IRS leadership announced that it would conduct a comprehensive review of the safety at its 600 facilities nationwide, after increased threats to workers were tied to the conspiracy theories.

“For me this is personal. I’ll continue to make every effort to dispel any lingering misperceptions about our work,” then-Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a letter to workers.

New IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel said last month that according to the IRS’ annual report.

Under the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, contact information for IRS employees must be included on manually generated correspondence. That includes the worker’s name and phone number.

Kenneth Corbin, commissioner of the IRS’ wage and investment division, said in a letter to the inspector general’s office that “we will take steps to limit the amount of personally identifiable information of our employees provided on manually generate correspondence while remaining compliant” with the law.

United States News

Natalie R. Coles, vice president & chief development officer at Wilberforce University, poses on th...

Associated Press

US companies, nudged by Black employees, have stepped up donations to HBCUs

Natalie Coles will never forget receiving an unexpected phone call in 2020. On the line was Virginia-based Dominion Energy, offering to give money to Wilberforce University, the small historically Black college where she is in charge of fundraising. The company’s $500,000 donation went in part toward laptops and hot spots for students when the pandemic […]

22 hours ago

FILE - This booking photo provided by the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff's Office shows Andrew Lester. L...

Associated Press

Judge agrees to seal court documents in Ralph Yarl shooting; suspect to be in court

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man accused of shooting a Black teenager who mistakenly came to his door last month is scheduled to be back in court Thursday, days after a judge ruled that court documents in the case will be sealed and kept from the public. The hearing for 84-year-old Andrew Lester […]

22 hours ago

FILE - Susana Lujano, left, a dreamer from Mexico who lives in Houston, joins other activists to ra...

Associated Press

Revised DACA program to be debated before Texas judge who previously ruled against it

HOUSTON (AP) — A revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children is set to be debated Thursday before a federal judge who previously ruled the program illegal. Attorneys representing the nine states that have sued to end the Deferred Action […]

22 hours ago

FILE - Jim Obergefell, the named plaintiff in the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case that lega...

Associated Press

LGBTQ+ Pride month kicks off with protests, parades, parties

NEW YORK (AP) — The start of June marks the beginning of Pride month around the U.S. and some parts of the world, a season to celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ communities and to protest against recent attacks on hard-won civil rights gains. This year’s Pride takes place in a contentious political climate […]

22 hours ago

Associated Press

After sailing though House on bipartisan vote, Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal now goes to Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veering away from a default crisis, the House overwhelmingly approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, sending the deal that President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated to the Senate for swift passage in a matter of days, before a fast-approaching deadline. The hard-fought compromise pleased few, but lawmakers assessed […]

22 hours ago

FILE - A statue of Walt Disney and Micky Mouse stands in front of the Cinderella Castle at the Magi...

Associated Press

LGBTQ+ people flock to Florida for Gay Days festival

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ people are flocking to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park rides, mingle with costumed performers, dance at all-night parties and lounge poolside at hotels during Gay Days, a decades-long tradition. Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have championed a slew of […]

22 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

IRS takes steps to protect identity of workers in effort to deter personal threats