Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the largest bureau within the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is responsible for enforcing federal statutes relating to the reporting and remission of income and other taxes by individuals and organizations through the promulgation of treasury regulations. It is also responsible for interpreting and applying these statutes and, through the administration of procedures, for collecting taxes and transferring them to the Treasury. This entry discusses the predecessor institutions of the IRS, the establishment of the IRS as a civil service agency and challenges from political controversies, its modernization and expansion of operational scope, major developments in tax policy and the repoliticization of the bureau, major enforcement activities and organizational developments since the early 1990s, and the contemporary mission ...