IRS Layoffs Could Hurt Revenue Collection

WASHINGTON (AP) — Experts say the layoffs of roughly 7,000 IRS probationary workers likely mean the end of the agency’s plans to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collections. The majority of employees shown the door at the federal tax collector this week are newly hired workers focused on ensuring taxpayers are following the tax code and paying debts. But Thursday’s layoffs upend previous efforts to collect from high-income tax cheats and cut off a revenue generating stream at a time when Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is trying to shrink the size of the federal workforce to cut spending and restructure the government’s priorities.