Commissioner of Internal Revenue
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),[1] an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury.[2]
| Commissioner of Internal Revenue | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the IRS | |
 Charles P. Rettig since October 1, 2018 | |
| United States Internal Revenue Service | |
| Style | Commissioner |
| Reports to | Secretary of the Treasury |
| Seat | Internal Revenue Service Building 1111 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, D.C. |
| Appointer | The President with Senate advise and consent |
| Term length | 5 years |
| Constituting instrument | 26 U.S.C. § 7803 |
| Formation | 1862 |
| First holder | George S. Boutwell |
| Website | www.irs.gov |
The office of Commissioner was created by Congress by the Revenue Act of 1862.[3] Section 7803 of the Internal Revenue Code[4] provides for the appointment of a Commissioner of Internal Revenue to administer and supervise the execution and application of the internal revenue laws. The Commissioner is appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, for a five-year term.[5]
The current commissioner is Charles P. Rettig.
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."[6] The Commissioner reports to the Secretary of the Treasury through the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.[7]
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):
- (a) Issuance. --The Commissioner, with the approval of the United States Secretary of the Treasury, or his delegate, shall prescribe all needful rules and all rules and regulations as may be necessary by reason of any alteration of law in relation to internal revenue.[8]
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."[9]
By law, the Commissioner is also part of the "federal law enforcement community."
Current and past commissioners
The following lists Commissioners of Internal Revenue, in chronological order:[10]
| Name | Took Office | Left Office |
|---|---|---|
| George S. Boutwell | Jul 17, 1862 | Mar 4, 1863 |
| Joseph J. Lewis (Acting) | Mar 5, 1863 | Mar 17, 1863 |
| Joseph J. Lewis | Mar 18, 1863 | Jun 30, 1865 |
| William Orton | Jul 1, 1865 | Oct 31, 1865 |
| Edward A. Rollins | Nov 1, 1865 | Mar 10, 1869 |
| Columbus Delano | Mar 11, 1869 | Oct 31, 1870 |
| John W. Douglass (Acting) | Nov 1, 1870 | Jan 2, 1871 |
| Alfred Pleasonton | Jan 3, 1871 | Aug 8, 1871 |
| John W. Douglass | Aug 9, 1871 | May 14, 1875 |
| Daniel D. Pratt | May 15, 1875 | Aug 1, 1876 |
| Green B. Raum | Aug 2, 1876 | Apr 30, 1883 |
| Henry C. Rogers (Acting) | May 1, 1883 | May 10, 1883 |
| John Jay Knox (Acting) | May 11, 1883 | May 20, 1883 |
| Walter Evans | May 21, 1883 | Mar 19, 1885 |
| Joseph S. Miller | Mar 20, 1885 | Mar 20, 1889 |
| John W. Mason | Mar 21, 1889 | Apr 18, 1893 |
| Joseph S. Miller | Apr 19, 1893 | Nov 26, 1896 |
| William St. John Forman | Nov 27, 1896 | Dec 31, 1897 |
| Nathan B. Scott | Jan 1, 1898 | Feb 28, 1899 |
| George W. Wilson | Mar 1, 1899 | Nov 27, 1900 |
| Robert Williams Jr. (Acting) | Nov 28, 1900 | Dec 19, 1900 |
| John W. Yerkes | Dec 20, 1900 | Apr 30, 1907 |
| Henry C. Rogers (Acting) | May 1, 1907 | Jun 4, 1907 |
| John G. Capers | Jun 5, 1907 | Aug 31, 1909 |
| Royal E. Cabell | Sep 1, 1909 | Apr 27, 1913 |
| William H. Osborn | Apr 28, 1913 | Sep 25, 1917 |
| Daniel Calhoun Roper | Sep 26, 1917 | Mar 31, 1920 |
| William M. Williams | Apr 1, 1920 | Apr 11, 1921 |
| Millard F. West (Acting) | Apr 12, 1921 | May 26, 1921 |
| David H. Blair | May 27, 1921 | May 31, 1929 |
| Robert H. Lucas | Jun 1, 1929 | Aug 15, 1930 |
| H. F. Mires (Acting) | Aug 16, 1930 | Aug 19, 1930 |
| David Burnet | Aug 20, 1930 | May 15, 1933 |
| Pressly R. Baldridge (Acting) | May 16, 1933 | Jun 5, 1933 |
| Guy T. Helvering | Jun 6, 1933 | Oct 8, 1943 |
| Robert E. Hannegan | Oct 9, 1943 | Jan 22, 1944 |
| Harold N. Graves (Acting) | Jan 23, 1944 | Feb 29, 1944 |
| Joseph D. Nunan Jr. | Mar 1, 1944 | Jun 30, 1947 |
| George J. Schoeneman | Jul 1, 1947 | Jul 31, 1951 |
| John B. Dunlap | Aug 1, 1951 | Nov 18, 1952 |
| John Stephens Graham | Nov 19, 1952 | Jan 19, 1953 |
| Justin F. Winkle (Acting) | Jan 20, 1953 | Feb 3, 1953 |
| T. Coleman Andrews | Feb 4, 1953 | Oct 31, 1955 |
| O. Gordon Delk (Acting) | Nov 1, 1955 | Dec 4, 1955 |
| Russell C. Harrington | Dec 5, 1955 | Sep 30, 1958 |
| O. Gordon Delk (Acting) | Oct 1, 1958 | Nov 4, 1958 |
| Dana Latham | Nov 5, 1958 | Jan 20, 1961 |
| Charles I. Fox (Acting) | Jan 21, 1961 | Feb 6, 1961 |
| Mortimer Caplin | Feb 7, 1961 | Jul 10, 1964 |
| Bernard M. Harding (Acting) | Jul 11, 1964 | Jan 24, 1965 |
| Sheldon S. Cohen | Jan 25, 1965 | Jan 20, 1969 |
| William H. Smith (Acting) | Jan 21, 1969 | Mar 31, 1969 |
| Randolph W. Thrower | Apr 1, 1969 | Jun 22, 1971 |
| Harold T. Swartz (Acting) | Jun 23, 1971 | Aug 5, 1971 |
| Johnnie Mac Walters | Aug 6, 1971 | Apr 30, 1973 |
| Raymond F. Harless (Acting) | May 1, 1973 | May 25, 1973 |
| Donald C. Alexander | May 25, 1973 | Feb 26, 1977 |
| William E. Williams (Acting) | Feb 27, 1977 | May 4, 1977 |
| Jerome Kurtz | May 5, 1977 | Oct 31, 1980 |
| William E. Williams (Acting) | Dec 1, 1980 | Mar 13, 1981 |
| Roscoe L. Egger Jr. | Mar 14, 1981 | Apr 30, 1986 |
| James I. Owens (Acting) | May 1, 1986 | Aug 3, 1986 |
| Lawrence B. Gibbs | Aug 4, 1986 | Mar 4, 1989 |
| Michael J. Murphy (Acting) | Mar 5, 1989 | Jul 4, 1989 |
| Fred T. Goldberg, Jr. | Jul 5, 1989 | Feb 2, 1992 |
| Shirley D. Peterson | Feb 3, 1992 | Jan 20, 1993 |
| Michael P. Dolan (Acting) | Jan 21, 1993 | May 26, 1993 |
| Margaret Milner Richardson | May 27, 1993 | May 31, 1997 |
| Michael P. Dolan (Acting) | Jun 1, 1997 | Nov 12, 1997 |
| Charles O. Rossotti | Nov 13, 1997 | Nov 6, 2002 |
| Bob Wenzel (Acting) | Nov 7, 2002 | Apr 30, 2003 |
| Mark W. Everson | May 1, 2003 | May 4, 2007 |
| Kevin M. Brown (Acting) | May 5, 2007 | Sep 9, 2007 |
| Linda E. Stiff[11][12](Acting) | Sep 10, 2007 | Mar 24, 2008 |
| Douglas H. Shulman | Mar 24, 2008 | Nov 9, 2012 |
| Steven T. Miller (Acting) | Nov 10, 2012 | May 22, 2013 |
| Daniel Werfel (Acting) | May 22, 2013[13] | December 23, 2013 |
| John Koskinen | December 23, 2013 | November 9, 2017 |
| David Kautter (Acting) | November 13, 2017 | October 1, 2018 |
| Charles P. Rettig | October 1, 2018 |
References
- See generally 26 U.S.C. § 7803.
- 26 C.F.R. section 601.101(a).
- Act of July 1, 1862, Ch. CXIX, 12 Stat. 432.
- 26 U.S.C. sec. 7803, as amended by the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-206 (July 22, 1998).
- 26 U.S.C. § 7803.
- Treasury Order 150-10, Delegation—Responsibility for Internal Revenue Laws, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (April 22, 1982), at treasury.gov
- Treasury Order 101-05, Reporting Relationships and Supervision of Officials, Offices and Bureaus, and Delegation of Certain Authority in the Department of the Treasury, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Jan. 10, 2011), at treasury.gov
- 26 C.F.R. § 301.7805-1.
- Treasury Order 107-03, Regulations Pertaining to the Internal Revenue Law, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Jan. 30, 1978), at treasury.gov
- "Internal Revenue Service Data Book 2003" (PDF). irs.gov. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
- George Jones, CCH News Staff, CCH 2007 TaxDay, Stiff Starts as Acting IRS Commissioner, Item #I.6 (Sept. 21, 2007).
- Official IRS Web Site, Acting Commissioner Linda E. Stiff "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-24. Retrieved 2017-08-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) (Mar. 24, 2008)
- President Obama Appoints Daniel Werfel as Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue, May 16, 2013