Stolen Tax Files: IRS Chief Says Unauthorized Employee Access Can be Detected “in a fairly timely manner”

So what’s taking so long?

On April 21 IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig testified that IRS employees trying to gain unauthorized access to private tax files can be caught “in a fairly timely manner.”

So what is taking so long to get to the bottom of the massive theft of private taxpayer files revealed nearly one year ago?

Rettig also noted that unauthorized access is one of the most frequent causes of IRS agent termination.

Rettig said:

“We have tracking — and unauthorized access is one of the highest reasons I believe most IRS folks might be terminated — other things on their own tax returns, etc. But we do have a tracking and actually TIGTA has the ability to see that as well in a fairly timely manner.”

TIGTA is the official IRS watchdog, but it will not even say whether or not an investigation is underway, as reported by Richard Rubin of the Wall Street Journal. Rubin also notes that over the past decade, approximately 400 IRS employees have been fired or punished for snooping.

Rettig and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have repeatedly testified that they do not know the source of the taxpayer data theft.

Americans expect their private tax information to remain private. The Biden administration owes taxpayers a detailed explanation, and must hold all responsible parties accountable.

Video of the Rettig testimony can be found here or below: