IRS chief zeroes in on wealthy tax cheats in AP interview

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel says in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press the federal tax collector will expand its pursuit of high-wealth tax dodgers with new initiatives in the coming months. Werfel says the IRS is using tools like artificial intelligence to ferret out abuses and is taking the fight to sophisticated scammers. Werfel will hit the one-year mark at the helm of the IRS in April. The IRS commissioner is promising taxpayers better service this tax season as he works to repair the agency’s image as an outdated and maligned tax collector. But it’s a tall order for a federal agency that even Werfel has referred to as “iconically unpopular” with the American public.