The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Melanie Krause, is resigning due to a controversial deal to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the US.
Driving the news: Krause’s resignation came following the signing of a new data-sharing agreement by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, allowing ICE to provide names and addresses of undocumented immigrants within the US to the IRS for cross-checking against tax records.
- The Trump administration has faced backlash over decisions regarding taxpayer data sharing, leading to significant unrest within the IRS. Acting Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell had previously announced his retirement amid concerns over the Department of Government Efficiency accessing IRS data.
- The new agreement reflects the government’s broader immigration crackdown, including deportations, workplace raids, and the utilization of an 18th-century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants.
- Critics argue that the IRS-DHS information-sharing agreement raises privacy concerns and potentially violates privacy laws, affecting all Americans. Advocates suggest this move could weaken tax compliance among immigrant communities and pose risks of privacy abuse in federal programs.
