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Washington, D.C.—An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposal to cut by nearly half the number of its estate and gift tax attorneys by the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year has drawn criticism from the leader of the union representing tens of thousands of IRS employees and a prominent member of Congress.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said that “given the size of the tax gap and the amount of money estate and gift tax attorneys generate for the Treasury, it simply doesn’t make sense” for the IRS to reduce the estate and gift tax corps.

Her comments were echoed by Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.). "The American people are tired of the Bush administration making up its own rules and bankrupting our economy to help the wealthiest Americans at the expense of everyone else," said Rothman.

“By the agency’s own reckoning, estate and gift tax attorneys are the most productive tax law enforcement employees at the IRS,” President Kelley said, noting that a senior IRS official told the New York Times that these professionals find an average of $2,200 in taxes owed to the government for each hour they work.

"Just a short time ago, the IRS told Congress that an increasing number of the wealthiest Americans are cheating on their taxes. Why, then, is the IRS going to lay off almost half of the attorneys who investigate gift and estate tax filings by some of the richest individuals, which often result in thousands of dollars of additional taxes due? And why is the IRS trying to do this without any congressional consent? Our nation's tax law enforcement should not be treated in such a cavalier fashion,” Rothman added.

As President Kelley told the New York Times, “If these lawyers are not there to audit the gift and estate tax returns, then a lot of taxes that should be paid will go uncollected, and that impacts every taxpayer who is paying their fair share.”

Kelley was also critical of the short time frame in which the IRS is seeking to cut the workforce. The agency said it will seek regular and early retirements from among the estate and gift tax attorneys to reach its internal number. “These employees are not even being given 90 days in which to decide if taking retirement is right for them,” Kelley said. “This is a life-altering decision that impacts employees and their families and could have been handled better by working through NTEU.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 federal workers in 30 agencies and departments, including 94,000 in the IRS.