Acting Heads Take Over at IRS Chief Counsel, DOJ Tax Division

Acting leaders are stepping in to fill top positions at the IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel and the Justice Department’s Tax Division as the agencies wait for Biden administration appointees.

William M. Paul, deputy chief counsel (Technical) at the IRS, is working as the acting chief counsel following Michael Desmond’s resignation, Drita Tonuzi, deputy chief counsel (Operations), said Wednesday at a virtual conference hosted by the American Bar Association tax section. The IRS chief counsel operates as the agency’s top lawyer, assisting the commissioner with interpreting, administering, and enforcing the tax laws. Paul was also the ...