Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

The IRS recently rehired 213 employees who were convicted of theft, falsified documents, or made unauthorized use of taxpayer data. Worse yet, a handful of these IRS employees failed to pay their own taxes! The Office of Treasury Inspector General released a report and said. “Given the substantial threat of identity theft and the magnitude of sensitive information that the IRS holds, hiring employees of high integrity is essential to maintaining public trust in tax administration and safeguarding taxpayer information.” Some are calling for the firing of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. This sad story is a reminder that an individual's integrity isn't just a private affair.  It has public consequences. And when it comes to the people reviewing our tax returns and sensitive information contained in them, we expect the most honest people in those positions.