TIGTA Commemorates 25^th Anniversary

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) begins a social media campaign to commemorate the agency’s 25^th anniversary of providing independent oversight of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and protecting the integrity of tax administration. The agency was created by Congress as part of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) and began operations in 1999.

Highlights from TIGTA’s work over the past 25 years include:

• An average annual return of $102 for each dollar invested in TIGTA.
  
  
• Issuing more than 3,000 reports with monetary benefits totaling $383 billion.
  
  
• Referring nearly 32,000 cases of IRS employee misconduct for action and 5,400 cases for criminal prosecution.

“TIGTA’s accomplishments over the past 25 years reflect the positive changes resulting from RRA 98 undertaken by a dedicated staff committed to protecting taxpayer dollars,” said Acting Inspector General Heather M. Hill. “Providing effective oversight has helped the IRS recognize and overcome major challenges and delivered a significant return on investment to taxpayers.”

Throughout its 25 years, TIGTA has provided stakeholders with an objective, fact-based, and credible perspective of how our nation’s tax system is working. Some of this work occurred during economic crises when the IRS was tasked with distributing financial relief to millions of taxpayers. For example, TIGTA assessed the IRS’s implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and multiple pandemic relief packages.

“Having spent many years in the federal government, I value TIGTA’s important role in many facets of tax administration oversight,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “TIGTA helps ensure our agency is accountable for the work we do to fulfill our mission. But it’s also important to recognize the critical work TIGTA does to protect taxpayers and IRS employees through its investigations of internal and external threats, including identity theft scams, employee misconduct and threats against IRS employees. Congratulations to TIGTA on 25 years of outstanding service to taxpayers, the IRS, and the nation.”

Background on TIGTA

TIGTA’s roots date to 1952, when Congress established the IRS Inspection Service in response to widespread allegations of corruption within the IRS. For nearly five decades, the Inspection Service served as an internal affairs function for the IRS, reporting directly to the IRS Commissioner.

In 1978, Congress passed the Inspector General Act of 1978, which established an independent corps of professionals to provide accountability throughout the federal government. However, the Inspection Service remained an internal function of the IRS.

In 1998, following extensive hearings concerning IRS operations, Congress passed RRA 98. The legislation reorganized the IRS and transitioned its Inspection Service into TIGTA. TIGTA was – and remains – organizationally placed within the Department of the Treasury, but functions independently of it.

Since its creation, TIGTA has been led by two presidentially appointed Inspectors General.

• David C. Williams became TIGTA’s Inspector General in May 1999 after serving as Inspector General at several other offices. He established the mission and vision of the organization, defended TIGTA’s independence and objectivity, and developed its reputation for timely, high-quality products.
  
  
• In November 2004, J. Russell George was sworn in as TIGTA’s Inspector General. Prior to assuming this role, Mr. George served as the Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service. He served nearly two decades before his death in January 2024. Mr. George strengthened TIGTA’s oversight capabilities by creating an office of inspections and evaluations to conduct more timely oversight of emerging issues impacting IRS operations.

Follow Along

The public can follow TIGTA’s social media campaign on LinkedIn and X (formerly known as Twitter). It will feature unique accomplishments, historical perspectives, trivia, and other fun facts about our work overseeing the IRS.

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