July 25, 2006

Keeping it in the family

The Bush administration is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit the tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans.

IRS deputy commissioner Kevin Brown said that he had ordered the cuts because far fewer people were obliged to pay estate taxes under Bush's legislation.

But six lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated said during interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves to shield people.

Sharyn Phillips, an IRS estate tax lawyer in New York, called the cuts a "backdoor way for the Bush administration to achieve what it cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax."


"Now watch this drive."
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