The IRS intentionally has an organizational structure that closely resembles
a private sector model of organizing around customers with similar needs.
Noticeably, the commissioner,
a presidential appointee who serves a five-year renewable term,
is ultimately responsible for the operations and activities of the entire agency.
Several specialized units report directly to the commissioner.
These include critical and other national level services such as Chief of Staff,
IRS Chief Counsel, Appeals and Taxpayer Advocate Services.
For instance, the Chief Counsel is the head legal officer.
As a presidential appointee,
the Chief Counsel provides legal advice to the IRS and guidance to
the public on matters pertaining to the administration and enforcement of tax laws.
The Chief Counsel also represents the IRS in all litigation before the US Tax Court.
In addition, the taxpayer advocate service is an independent organization within the IRS.
Its goal is to ensure that every taxpayer is treated
fairly and that taxpayers know and understand their rights.
In addition to helping taxpayers when normal IRS channels are ineffective,
the service also report structural problems and tax administration directly to Congress.
From here, there are deputy commissioners responsible for
services and enforcement and operations support.
For services and enforcement,
most divisions are based on the type of tax return involved.
They include the Wages and Investment Division,
Large Business and International Division,
Small Business Self-employed Division,
and Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division.
For example, the Large Business and International division
focuses its efforts on subchapter C corporations,
subchapter S corporations, and partnerships with assets greater than $10 million.
Other service and enforcement functions include
the Criminal Investigations division and the Whistleblower office.
The criminal investigations division focuses on
high profile criminal activity including abusive return preparer fraud,
abuse of tax scheme fraud,
identity theft fraud, terrorism financing, and more.
During fiscal year 2016,
the division initiated 3,395 new investigations
with a large majority of those cases involving narcotics.
The Whistleblower office offers rewards to informants who provide the IRS
with information about substantial business or individual tax deficiencies.
When the information is useful,
an informant could be awarded up to 30 percent of taxes collected by the IRS.
However, it can take many years for a case to settle,
it might even involve substantial legal fees to obtain an award.
Finally, the operation support function involves
shared services such as human resources, procurement, and technology.
Overall, like any private sector business organization,
the IRS structure aims to make the most efficient use of its resources.
It seems to be working as the IRS is one of
the world's most efficient tax administrators
spinning about 35 cents for every $100 collected.