Larry Gibbs commented on the challenges facing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the upcoming 2014 filing season. Gibbs said the newly confirmed IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen, has "hit the ground running," however budget cuts are one of three key issues facing the IRS in 2014. He said that while the IRS has lost a significant number of people in the last three years, the workload continues to grow as the pressure to raise revenue increases. The amount of revenue that the IRS can generate will likely suffer without adequate resources, Gibbs said, adding, "You reduce compliance resources and you'll get a multiplier on the amount of revenue that you'll lose."

Gibbs said another challenge is the rising workload, which is increased by IRS efforts to combat identity theft and refund fraud and "the numerous government systems that are being run through the tax law." He said Koskinen will be confronted with the delayed start of the filing season and other difficult decisions regarding how much service the IRS can offer. "Any time you get a reduction in service during the filing season, it's going to draw criticism," Gibbs said.