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IRS Tech Overhaul Bill Sets Out ‘Enhanced’ CIO Role

IRS Tech Overhaul Bill Sets Out ‘Enhanced’ CIO Role

A federal bill aimed at updating the Internal Revenue Service’s decades-old IT systems sets out the duties and responsibilities of a new IRS chief information officer, among other modernization efforts.

The tax agency’s IT systems are currently led by a chief technology officer, who serves in a similar role as a CIO and reports to the deputy IRS commissioner for operations support.

 

It also has two deputy CIOs, overseeing IT operations and strategy.

The bill, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Mike Bishop (R., Mich.) and approved last week by House lawmakers by a margin of 414 to three, comes in the wake of a day-long hardware failure at the agency that prevented taxpayers from filing online returns by last Tuesday’s deadline. It is currently before the Senate.

Among other initiatives, the bill codifies the roles and responsibilities of a new IRS CIO, to be appointed by the agency’s administrator.

Under the bill, the agency’s new CIO will lead the “development, implementation and maintenance” of all IT systems, while ensuring IT is “secure and integrated,” according to the House version of the legislation.


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