IRS commissioner to exit next month

Doug Shulman, the IRS commissioner, will leave the post when his term ends next month, the agency announced Wednesday.

Shulman, who has led the tax-collecting agency since March 2008, will exit on Nov. 9, after already signaling this year that he would leave when his term expired.

"The IRS team made remarkable progress in the last few years during a challenging period," Shulman said in a statement. "It has been an honor to serve the American people during this dynamic time."

By law, presidents nominate IRS commissioners for a single term lasting up to five years. The Senate must confirm a president’s appointee, and a commissioner’s term lasts until November of his or her final year in office. 

In his four and a half years at the IRS, Shulman has made fighting offshore tax evasion a priority, and has worked to implement new regulations for tax preparers.

Shulman has also fought against budget cuts to the IRS, arguing that cuts would be counterproductive and cost the country revenue, and tried to upgrade the agency’s technology. 

And the commissioner has urged policymakers to offer taxpayers more predictability, and called for a simpler tax code. The IRS had to delay the 2010 filing season for some after Congress and President Obama agreed to a tax deal in December. 

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that Shulman's work on tax evasion and modernizing IRS technology "has helped make the nation's tax system more fair, efficient and effective."

"Commissioner Shulman is leaving the IRS a stronger institution - the mark of a true public servant - and his advice and expertise will be missed," Geithner said in a statement.

Steven Miller, a deputy IRS commissioner, will be the interim commissioner after Shulman steps down. 

This post was updated at 5:25 p.m.

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