3 reasons an agency historian would be a good idea.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
karl marx may have been wrong about workers rising up against their capitalist overlords, but he was right in observing that much of history can be explained by economics.
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if history and economics go hand in hand, it makes sense that the internal revenue service, an entity through which trillions of dollars pass in a constant flow, should have an in-house historian. its policies, programs, decisions, managers, records, cases, controversies and artifacts are an important part of american and world history – but only if they survive for historical analysis.
that intriguing idea comes not from karl marx but from nina e. olson, america’s national taxpayer advocate. she presents the idea in the taxpayer advocacy service’s annual “purple book” of recommendations for congressional legislation.
not a new idea
it’s not a bad idea. as a federal agency, the irs is supposed to maintain and manage records and provide access to them by the public. it does so to a certain – and some would say flawed – extent. what it doesn’t do is publish a historical analysis of its programs and policies.
it’s also not a new idea. there are at least 29 federal offices of history operating in the executive, judicial and legislative branches. in fact, the irs used to have a historian … but not for long.
and the extinction of that office illustrates the need for it.
the first and last irs historian was shelley l. davis. she held the job from 1988 to 1995, when she resigned because of obstinate resistance by irs management.
in 1995, the national archives reported “serious shortcomings” in irs recordkeeping. the records in question were not income tax returns or personal information but photographs, mission statements, organizational charges, news releases and annual reports – the kinds of things other federal agencies routinely hand over to the archives.
a paucity of records
davis brought the issue to national attention with an op-ed in the washington post on april 6, 1997. here are her opening paragraphs:
“for much of the 20th century, the internal revenue service has systematically discarded most of its records. a quick visit to the national archives’s storage facility in college park will confirm this reality. some of the shelves reserved for the records of one of our most important and powerful federal agencies are bare. files of the agency’s commissioners – and how they make their decisions – are not there. you can learn more about tax collection during the civil war or the 1794 whiskey rebellion than you can learn about watergate abuses or the expansion of the income tax from a class tax to a mass tax during world war ii.
“… the paucity of official irs records is a national tragedy … until i resigned in frustration and disgust, i did my best to preserve the agency’s history, even as others at the irs were failing in their duty to do so.”
the relationship between the irs and its historian was tense during her entire tenure. she told congress that “the irs shreds its paper trail, which means there is no history, no evidence and ultimately no accountability.”
the irs took heed of the in-house criticism. after davis’s resignation, the agency never hired another historian.
why a historian
the upper echelons of the irs may find a historian, historical records and historical analysis somewhat of an inconvenience, but from other viewpoints, the tas says, the office of historian would be a good idea.
- it would help congress gain a better understanding of the irs’s successes and failures and thus play to its strengths, address its weaknesses and avoid inadvisable repetitions of history.
- it would help the irs assess its programs, reduce redundant efforts and share knowledge within the agency.
- it would assist the public by promoting a more transparent and accountable irs.
the roles of a government historian
government historians serve various roles. they research and write for academic and internal publications. they edit and select historical documents. they preserve historical sites and artifacts. they provide historical information and perspective to the public, the media and government agencies. in that more americans interact with the irs than with any other federal agency, an ongoing history of the irs would seem to be a good idea.
the irs, however, apparently thinks a history of itself would not be a good idea. it shows no inclination to hire another historian. for that reason, the tas recommends that congress step in.
tas recommendation: amend irc § 7803 to mandate the position of an irs historian who would have access to irs records, including tax returns (subject to confidentiality and disclosure regulations). the job description would include:
- expertise in federal taxation and archival methods.
- appointment by the secretary of the treasury in consultation with the u.s. archivist, reporting to the commissioner of the irs.
- must report irs history objectively and accurately, without omitting or concealing defects in policy.
- monitor the pulse of american tax returns to be vigilant for signs of workers rising up against their capitalist overlords.