The president is barred from directing how the IRS treats specific taxpayers, but lawyers say there’s nothing to stop Trump from appointing an IRS chief who will go easy on him while scrutinizing his political enemies.
“There is precious little statutorily that prohibits that,” said Caplin & Drysdale tax lawyer Chris Rizek, who served in the Treasury Department’s Office of Legislative Counsel under former president Clinton.
Trump could have the opportunity to put his own IRS chief into place quickly, even though the IRS commissioner serves a fixed five-year term to shield the agency from presidential politics. Current Commissioner John Koskinen, whose term ends next November, is facing potential impeachment in the House over his handling of investigations, and he could come under pressure to resign before Trump takes office. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan reiterated his call for impeachment this month, and lobbyists expect Trump to give Koskinen the boot to throw conservatives a bone.
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