IRS looking to hire army of new armed agents spanning all 50 states
By jdheyes // 2023-05-01
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After Democrats rammed through the latest massive spending package earlier this year containing tens of billions of dollars for 87,000 more IRS agents, the agency is not wasting any time going on a hiring binge. And it's not one that will make Americans feel warm and fuzzy inside. The Criminal Investigation (CI) division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has posted job openings for special agents who can carry guns and make arrests in all 50 states. The CI division is responsible for investigating financial crimes, money laundering, tax-related identity theft, and terrorist financing, FOX Business reported this week. Special agents within the division are authorized by law to carry and use firearms, making them the only IRS employees with this authority. The available positions are located throughout the U.S. Under the job postings' "major duties" section, the agency says that special agents "[c]arry a firearm; must be prepared to protect him/herself or others from physical attacks at any time and without warning and use firearms in life-threatening situations; must be willing to use force up to and including the use of deadly force." In addition, IRS-CI special agents must be "willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments." The posting goes on to note that special agents are required to maintain "a level of fitness necessary to effectively respond to life-threatening situations on the job." Applicants must fulfill several additional eligibility criteria, such as holding U.S. citizenship, being aged between 21 when completing the training academy and 37 at the time of appointment. Moreover, prospective special agents in the IRS' Criminal Investigation division are required to clear pre-employment medical and tax exams, as well as drug tests, and must be legally authorized to possess firearms, the financial news outlet reported further. The IRS began accepting applications for the special agent role in mid-February and the job posting will remain open through the end of the year. The posting lists 360 vacancies in 249 locations across the country, with at least one position available in each state. The salary range for the role is between $52,921 and $94,228 annually, the report continued. "The IRS faced criticism last year when a similar posting went live amid debate in Congress over Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which included $80 billion in increased funding for the IRS over a decade — much of which was intended to help the agency crack down on tax evasion," FOX Business added. According to the group Americans For Tax Reform, which generally opposes all tax increases: Armed agents are sought at: 20 sites in Texas 18 sites in California 13 sites in each of Florida and New York 9 sites in each of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois 8 sites in Ohio 7 sites in each of Tennessee, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland 6 sites in each of Massachusetts, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia 5 sites in each of Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon, West Virginia 4 sites in each of North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Louisiana, Washington state and Alabama 3 sites in each of Minnesota, Oklahoma, Colorado, Mississippi, Arkansas, Utah, New Mexico 2 sites in each of Kansas, South Dakota, Nevada, New Hampshire 1 site in each of North Dakota, Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wyoming. "In order to carry or use an IRS-owned weapon, agents must: engage in handgun firing training at least once each quarter, shoot at least the minimum of 75 percentage points on the firearms qualifying test using the issued handgun during two nonconsecutive quarters, participate in biannual firearms building entry exercises, participate in an annual briefing on firearms safety and security policies and IRS-CI’s directives and procedures regarding the safe handling and storage of firearms, and participate in a briefing each quarter regarding the policy of discharging a firearm at a moving vehicle," the group's site noted further, referencing the agency's firearms training standards. It seems clear the IRS is building an army to go after ordinary earners, not wealthy Americans who are far fewer in number. Sources include: FOXBusiness.com ATR.org
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