When most Americans think of the IRS, they probably don’t think of the type of digital-first, tech savvy agency Danny Werfel is building. Werfel, the fiftieth and current commissioner of the IRS, is well aware of the public perception challenges the agency faces—likening the IRS to “the NFL referee of the government.” Part of his role in the years to come is to change that.
To mark the one-year anniversary of his role as Commissioner, Werfel spoke to a packed room at American University’s Veloric Center for Entrepreneurship about his plan to create an IRS that is modern, accessible, and equitable. The keystone, he said, is the full digital transformation of an antiquated system.
Commissioner Werfel’s presentation, titled “The Future of the IRS: Transforming for a Digital World,” explored how the IRS got to its current state, how he hopes to bring the agency fully into the twenty-first century, and how young people like the students in the audience could be part of the agency’s transformation.
After his remarks, Werfel sat down with Kogod dean David Marchick for a fireside chat and explained that the next era of the IRS is one in which students from all academic backgrounds—from accounting to management to data analytics—can find a foothold, should they choose to pursue a career in public service.
“The modernization of the IRS is a generational imperative,” Werfel said.
With sixty billion dollars in funding granted by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS is focused on developments in three critical areas: access, accountability, and trust restoration. This includes making technological and workforce investments, with the two-pronged goal of automating repetitive processes and having employees engage more with communities across the country. Werfel’s ultimate objective is to create a high-functioning digital platform that serves as a one-stop shop for all taxpaying needs, as well as a robust workforce that is doing impactful work on the ground.