U.S. Treasury's Yellen says IRS needs to be 'completely redone'

By Andrea Shalal LUSAKA, Zambia (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said rebuilding the Internal Revenue Service would be one of her top

priorities in coming years, putting her squarely at odds with Republicans who have taken control of the House of Representatives. Yellen told Reuters in an interview on her

way to Zambia that she was thrilled that Congress had approved $80 billion in new funding to help the agency reduce a huge backlog of tax returns and better hunt down $600 billion

in unpaid tax bills. She said she decided to stay on as Treasury secretary in large part to oversee implementation of legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, which

included the IRS funding and passed on party lines last year. Yellen lobbied hard for the extra funding to help the IRS deal with what she called massive problems,

including a "huge backlog" in working through tax returns, and lack of personnel to carry out complicated audits of higher-earning taxpayers. "I’m excited about legislation

that’s passed and I want to make sure that it makes the difference it should make, and that includes the IRS," she said. "That agency needs to be completely redone, and it’s a big

task." Republicans sought unsuccessfully to slash tens of billions in IRS funding from the law. The law also includes about $270 billion in tax credits for electric

vehicles, home solar panels and other climate purchases that will be overseen by Treasury, which has made Yellen a pivotal climate figure in President Joe Biden's

administration.