PHOENIX — Why does the IRS, an agency that oversees the Federal government's income taxes, need armed agents? Is it really to bring the hammer down on middle-class Americans?
Long answer short: No.
Long answer long, the IRS has something called the Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI). It's a longstanding investigative body that looks into alleged violations of tax code, the Bank Secrecy Act, and money laundering statutes. And yes, these are they guys who took down Al Capone.
The IRS-CI employs roughly 2,100 special agents with investigative jurisdiction over tax, money laundering, and Bank Secrecy act laws. As the only federal body that can investigate potential criminal tax code violations, they sometimes go into dangerous situations.
Undercover operations are one of the main ways that the IRS-CI handles their investigations. Instead of sitting in a back room with a bean counter and a checkbook, agents take on covert identities to gather evidence and information from dangerous criminals; they carry out search warrants; they have authority to make arrests. These aren't accountants with guns, they're sworn law enforcement officers.
And yes, the IRS did recently buy nearly $700,000 in ammunition, but that's nothing new for the IRS-CI. From 2010 to 2017, the IRS spent a yearly average of $675,000 on ammunition. In fact, the 2022 ammunition expenditure is down from the agency's peak of $1,100,000 in 2011. An armed criminal investigations division is not a new trend.
Actually, it's an old trend: a century-old trend. The IRS-CI was founded as the Intelligence Unit in 1919 in response to widespread allegations of tax fraud. Six United States Post Office Inspectors were transferred to the department where they became the first special agents of the organization. The department played a large role in convicting Al Capone for income tax evasion, and in solving the Lindbergh kidnapping by tracking spent ransom money. The department changed its name to Criminal Investigation in 1978.
So while most of the IRS's work goes into getting Americans to pay taxes, law enforcement officers -- and their accompanying arsenal -- are still part of the picture.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on our 12News YouTube playlist here.