Tax attorneys say IRS has become a 'zombie' as agency cuts staff and halts audits of the wealthy

Wesley Stanovsek was a dream hire for the IRS in 2024.

Wesley Stanovsek was a dream hire for the IRS in 2024.

With $80 billion in new funding from Congress, the IRS went shopping for young, tech savvy accountants and engineers who could deconstruct the complex returns of the wealthy and private companies. Stanovsek, based in Columbus, Ohio, specialized in S-corps, trusts and partnerships before getting hired by the IRS’s High Wealth division.

In February he was fired, along with other IRS agents who were considered “probationary” since they had been there less than a year. Stanovsek was working on three “enterprise” cases at the time — two involving partnerships and one involving a wealthy sports team owner, totaling millions of dollars of potential additional taxes.

When he left, the cases were dropped due to lack of staff.

“They’ll most likely be closed with no change,” said Stanovsek.