Commissioner John Koskinen

 

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John Koskinen is the 48th IRS Commissioner. As Commissioner, he presides over the nation’s tax system, which collects approximately $3.3 trillion in tax revenue each year. This revenue funds most government operations and public services. Mr. Koskinen manages an agency of about 83,000 employees and a budget of approximately $11.2 billion.

In his role leading the IRS, Mr. Koskinen is working to ensure that the agency maintains an appropriate balance between taxpayer service and tax enforcement and administers the tax code with fairness and integrity.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Koskinen served as the non-executive chairman of Freddie Mac from 2008 to 2012 and its acting chief executive officer in 2009. Previously, Mr. Koskinen served as President of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Deputy Mayor and City Administrator of Washington D.C., Assistant to the President and Chair of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion and Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Koskinen also spent 21 years in the private sector in various leadership positions with the Palmieri Company, including President and Chief Executive Officer, helping to turn around large, troubled organizations. He began his career clerking for Chief Judge David L. Bazelon of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in 1965, practiced law with the firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and served as Assistant to the Deputy Executive Director of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner Commission. Mr. Koskinen also served as Legislative Assistant to New York Mayor John Lindsay and Administrative Assistant to Sen. Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut.

Mr. Koskinen holds a Law Degree from Yale University School of Law and a Bachelor’s Degree from Duke University. He also studied International Law for one year in Cambridge, England. He and his wife Patricia have two grown children and live in Washington, DC.