It looks like the IRS will have a new commissioner. The Senate confirmed Charles Rettig last week as the new commissioner. The Senate confirmed the Beverly Hills tax attorney by vote of 64-33. Rettig will be the first commissioner to come from a tax background and was considered qualified for the job by both parties. Rettig has a tough road ahead of him as the IRS has been hit with several budget cuts from over the years. One of Rettig’s big tasks will be writing the new rules to implement the next tax laws, along with pinpointing the way certain documents will look, and carefully deciding how overseas corporate revenue will be taxed.
So, who is Rettig? Charles Rettig is a California native who earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics at the University of California, his J.D. at Pepperdine University, and his LLM in Taxation at the University of New York Law School. Rettig has spent the last 35 years practicing tax law and helping taxpayers settle their disputes with the IRS. He has dealt with high profile clients with tax controversies that include, Michael Jackson, Don Ho, and “Girls Gone Wild” creator and founder Joseph Francis. Rettig has represented individuals and companies in both civil and criminal tax matters before the IRS. He has successfully sued the IRS on behalf of a California bank holding company, and settled many disputes involving overseas taxes and the proper handling of money. For the past decade, Rettig has also been an adviser to the IRS and state tax collectors.
Rettig’s term will run until November 2022. He will replace David Kautter, who has been acting as IRS commissioner and is the Treasury Department’s top tax policy official.