IRS Staff Downsizing Offers New Look at Private Sector Tax Work

With the massive wave of federal government layoffs, tens of thousands of workers from the IRS and other agencies are likely looking for new jobs, potentially in the private sector for the first time.

Caroline Ciraolo, a partner at Kostelanetz and founder of the firm’s office in Washington, D.C., has started an initiative that connects former federal tax professionals with law firms and other private employers. She knows what it’s like to make the transition: Ciraolo was the No. 2 official in the Department of Justice Tax Division from 2015 to 2017 before returning to the private sector.

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In this episode of Talking Tax, Bloomberg Tax Editor at Large Rebecca Baker sat down with Ciraolo to discuss shifting out of government work, and how the “love of the practice area” is a key transferable skill.

“That passion for unpacking complicated transactions and complicated facts and circumstances, identifying the issues—those skills are equal on both sides,” she said.

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