United States Department of Justice Tax Division


The United States Department of Justice Tax Division is responsible for the prosecution of both civil and criminal cases arising under the Internal Revenue Code and other tax laws of the United States. The Division began operation in 1934, under United States Attorney General Homer Stille Cummings, who charged it with primary responsibility for supervising all federal litigation involving internal revenue.

Responsibilities

The Tax Division works closely with public schools and corporations of the state and the Criminal Investigation Division and other units of the Internal Revenue Service to develop and coordinate federal tax policy. Among the Division's duties are:
In August 2013, the Justice Department announced their Swiss bank program, which "provides Swiss banks an opportunity to come forward, cooperate, disclose their illegal conduct, and be eligible for non-prosecution agreements -- or in egregious cases, deferred prosecution agreements."
The offshore voluntary disclosure program is for individual taxpayer to come forward and pay owed taxes on undisclosed income. However, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson advocated changes to this program to encourage account holders of accounts with small balances to come forward.

Leadership

On February 4, 2020, President Donald Trump nominated Richard Zuckerman Assistant Attorney General to head the Tax Division, a post that requires Senate confirmation. Zuckerman is the current head of the Tax Division. He was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Matters of the Tax Division on December 18, 2017. He succeeded Caroline D. Ciraolo, former Acting Assistant Attorney General, who left the Tax Division in January 2017.

Organization

The head of the Tax Division is an Assistant Attorney General, who is appointed by the President of the United States. The Assistant Attorney General is assisted by four Deputy Assistant Attorneys General, who are each career attorneys, who each oversee a different branch of the Tax Division's sections.