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The Senate confirmed Wednesday the next commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, giving the tax collection agency a new leader who is struggling to cope with budget cuts and enact the sprawling Republican tax law passed on. last fall.
Charles Rettig, a California tax lawyer, was chosen by President Trump in February. It was confirmed by 64 votes to 33.
Rettig has been a lawyer for more than 30 years at the Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez law firm, based in Beverly Hills, California, and has often represented taxpayers in litigation with the IRS. He has also served on an advisory committee of the IRS that reviews tax policy.
Rettig's position as commissioner comes at a crucial time for the agency. The IRS budget has been steadily reduced in previous years, with staff numbers having fallen by more than 16% in five years, mainly because of Republicans' refusal to Congress to fund it. Congress has slightly increased the IRS budget earlier this year, in part to help oversee the immensely complex tax law passed by the GOP last fall.
"Rettig will face enormous challenges," said Marvin Friedlander, who spent nearly two decades as an IRS official. "The big picture is this: how can he keep this agency on a tight budget while implementing this new complex law?
Mr. Rettig is also expected to face questions about President Trump's tax returns, which the President refused to disclose during the 2016 presidential campaign. Democrats lobbied to release Trump's tax returns, with some promising to pass a law if they were to take control of Congress in this year's mid-term elections.
Democrats used Rettig's auditions to criticize a new rule that allows non-profit organizations that participate in elections to no longer share the names or addresses of their donors in tax returns. The rule was recently announced by the Treasury Department.
"This is not a typical debate of the IRS Commissioner. Over the last few months, the Trump administration has armed the tax code to punish its political opponents and benefit extreme right-wing groups, said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore), the party's highest democrat Senate finances.
Rettig will also be confronted with improvements to outdated IRS computer systems. A major problem on Tax Day resulted in the closure of some IRS systems and delayed millions of taxpayers as they attempted to file their returns online.
"Recent memories remind us of how important it is that all Americans get a fair response from the agency that oversees the tax code," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. R-Ky.). "This new historic law makes it all the more important as the IRS continues to modernize and improve its technological infrastructure."
Erica Werner contributed to this story.
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