Former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Larry Gibbs was quoted regarding challenges nominee Charles Rettig may face if he is confirmed as the new Commissioner of the agency. Gibbs, who became the IRS commissioner just prior to the 1986 tax reform implementation, said that if confirmed, Rettig should set out metrics early in his tenure for implementing the sweeping new law. "At some point, there will be an oversight hearing, and if the IRS doesn't set out its own measurements, that will be done after the fact," he said, adding that funding and training will be another hurdle for the next commissioner to overcome. "There are going to be systemic problems throughout the IRS that really make the IRS less efficient in the way it serves taxpayers and in the way it does its business, and I suspect there is going to be a cry for the IRS to begin to identify systemic problems and come up with ways to solve them," Gibbs said. Just as important is how Rettig, a practicing tax attorney, will answer questions of impartiality on issues he handled for clients in the past. Gibbs, who also worked as a tax professional before becoming IRS commissioner, said, "You’ve represented a lot of clients that have sued the IRS. So you’ve got former clients out there. How are you going to avoid representing them as you serve as IRS commissioner, and how about the issues that you were involved with in your tax controversies? How will you insulate yourself so that we know there’s not going to be a thumb on the scale?"