Don’t Mess with the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division

A fact that is little known to the public, the IRS has a large inventory of weapons. An official report says that at the end of 2017, the tax agency has 4,487 guns and 5,062,006 rounds of ammunition, including 15 fully automatic firearms, which only the Criminal Investigation Division is authorized to carry.

According to an audit report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, from 2009 to 2011, IRS agents accidentally discharged their guns 11 times during that time.  The report also stated that the IRS agents fired their guns accidentally more times than they did intentionally. Some of the misfires caused property damage or personal injury.

In a 30-page report issued on July 30, 2018, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the, “Criminal Investigation’s Firearms Training and Qualification Oversight Needs to Be Improved”, included policies on weaponless control, intermediate weapon control and the use of deadly force.

Open the Books, a project of the nonprofit organization American Transparency found that the IRS spent nearly $11 million on guns, ammunition and military-style equipment in 2006-2014.