The Internal Revenue Service says it's reviewing its safety protocols out of an abundance of caution after they said employees had received threats.
In a staff memo, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said Tuesday that safety measures at all 600 IRS locations would be reviewed including new risk assessments, monitoring perimeter security at facilities, designating restricted areas, and reassessing exterior lighting and entrance security, the Washington Post reported.
“For me, this is personal. I’ll continue to make every effort to dispel any lingering misperceptions about our work,” Rettig said in the memo. “And I will continue to advocate for your safety in every venue where I have an audience.”
News of the agency receiving threats comes after President Joe Biden signed into law last week the $700 billion climate, healthcare and tax bill that included $80 billion over 10 years to help fund tax collection efforts, the Associated Press reported.
The Washington Post reported that the agency would increase enforcement on those who earn a high income and major corporations.
But misinformation spread rapidly online after Congress GOP members falsely claimed that the IRS would distribute firearms to employees, the news outlets reported.
In an Aug. 16 open letter, Florida Republica Sen. Rick Scott called on Americans not to work at the IRS, the Associated Press reported.
“The IRS is making it very clear that you not only need to be ready to audit and investigate your fellow hardworking Americans, your neighbors and friends, you need to be ready and, to use the IRS’s words, willing to kill them,” he said, the AP reported.
