Mnuchin: I Will Bring ‘IRS Up To Date’ To Prevent Hacking

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By Robert Donachie

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the treasury, Steve Mnuchin, said at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday he would like to “bring the IRS up to date.”

The potential treasury secretary pick said he would “use technology to bring the IRS up to date.” Mnuchin noted some serious flaws in how the IRS currently operates, including old email security and systems. The IRS incurred a massive data breach in early 2016, releasing more than 700,000 Social Security numbers and other sensitive information of American taxpayers.

Mnuchin said there should be more open means of communication between the IRS and taxpayers. “There should be simple ways for the IRS to interact with taxpayers,” Mnuchin said. “One of my greatest priorities is to update the IRS.”

He also wants to increase the size of the IRS. While some have questioned, including himself, the number of employees at the IRS, he would consider increasing the size of the labor force. (VIDEO: Mnuchin Wants To INCREASE The Size Of The IRS)

“The IRS headcount has gone down quite dramatically, almost 30 percent over the last number of years. I don’t think there is any another government agency that has gone down 30 percent. Especially for an agency that collects revenues, this is something that I’m concerned about,” Mnuchin said. “Perhaps the IRS just started with way too many people. I am concerned about the staffing of the IRS.”