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The Commissioner of Internal Revenue (or IRS Commissioner) is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury.
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The office of Commissioner was created by Congress by the Revenue Act of 1862. The Commissioner is appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, for a five-year term.
The current commissioner is John Koskinen, who was sworn in on December 23, 2013.
Responsibilities
The Commissioner's duties include administering, managing, conducting, directing, and supervising "the execution and application of the internal revenue laws or related statutes and tax conventions to which the United States is a party" and advising the President on the appointment and removal of a Chief Counsel of the IRS. Treasury Order 150-10 states in relevant part: "The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws." The Commissioner reports to the Secretary of the Treasury through the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
One of the Commissioner's most important responsibilities with respect to the internal revenue laws involves prescribing Treasury Regulations administered by the IRS. The U.S. Treasury Regulations provide (in part):
However, the General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury has "the authority to approve all regulations pertaining to the internal revenue laws, including the authority to ratify and approve, where necessary, any such regulations previously issued."
By law, the Commissioner is also part of the "Federal law enforcement community."
On May 15, 2013, Acting Commissioner Stephen T. Miller announced his resignation for early June after increased scrutiny of the IRS when media sources revealed that it targeted conservative groups such as the Tea Party (see IRS Tea Party investigation). Prior to the IRS scandal, Stephen T. Miller planned to step down as the acting Commissioner in early June, 2013, and entirely retire from the IRS within 2 months.
Current and past commissioners
The following lists Commissioners of Internal Revenue, in chronological order: