Staff Reports
The IRS has decided to make some dramatic cuts, laying off around 7,000 employees—mainly those probationary workers who have barely learned the ins and outs of tax forms. These layoffs are yet another example of the Trump administration’s goal to streamline the bloated federal workforce. While everybody knows that government jobs can feel like a never-ending vacation to the beach (minus the beach and the fun), the IRS is taking decisive action to ensure it doesn’t need to permanently keep every auditor who barely remembers how to fill out their own taxes.
The individuals being let go primarily work in compliance departments. It seems their primary responsibility has been to ensure that we peasants are dutifully filing our returns and paying our taxes. The very idea that anyone should be doing such a job while the government is racking up trillions in debt seems about as relevant today as a flip phone in 2023. After all, enforcing a tax code that even accountants need a translator for might not be the best use of resources right now.
IRS to lay off 7,000 probationary workers starting Thursday, AP source sayshttps://t.co/KbXk7gxZfj pic.twitter.com/8NuY93VBNH
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) February 20, 2025
Adding a little spice to this boring tale of layoffs, the IRS has suddenly found itself tied up in bureaucratic red tape. Just earlier this month, IRS employees were informed they would be stuck in place until after the tax filing deadline because they can’t even accept a buyout offer. It’s like the government decided that the very last thing they would want is for anyone to leave their job before making sure taxpayers are utterly miserable by dodging those deadlines.
In the midst of this chaos, it’s curious how the national conversation constantly spins around taxing the rich harder, with some vague promise of saving the economy. The IRS, tasked with squeezing money out of high-wealth tax evaders, managed to pull in over $1.3 billion. Yet, with the agency dropping employees and focusing on immigration enforcement through the Department of Homeland Security, one has to wonder: is there anyone left to ensure that honest taxpayers finish their paperwork?
Lastly, some statistics pop up about workforce diversity within the IRS. It turns out that 56% of IRS employees are racial minorities and 65% are women. Was anyone really surprised? The IRS has always seemed like a place where conformity to quotas might trump actual talent. Perhaps, in a time when layoffs are leading the headlines, it would be wiser for the IRS to cut out the bureaucratic nonsense and focus on what really matters: ensuring taxpayers feel that their hard-earned dollars are being used efficiently. But that, of course, is a tall order for an agency that has mastered the art of collecting taxes but struggles with a bit of common sense.
