IRS nominee: No audit boost for households under $400,000

If confirmed as IRS commissioner, Daniel Werfel says he will commit to not increasing tax audits on businesses and households making less than $400,000 per year.

Anticipating questions ahead of his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee, Werfel in prepared testimony makes several other commitments aimed at revamping the beleaguered agency.

President Joe Biden nominated Werfel to steer the Internal Revenue Service as it receives a massive funding boost – nearly $80 billion over the next 10 years through the Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed in August. Noting the act’s impact on the federal tax collector, Werfel says that “Americans rightfully expect a more modern and high-performing IRS.”

While promising to modernize the agency’s technology, address its paperwork burden and audit high-income earners, Werfel says he will be “unyielding in following my true north to increase public trust.”

Werfel, 51, who led Boston Consulting Group’s global public sector practice, was nominated to replace Charles Rettig. Selected by President Donald Trump to lead the agency, Rettig left when his five-year term ended in November. An acting commissioner has been filling in.

Werfel will also have to navigate controversy surrounding the new funding, brought by critics who

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