The roots of IRS go back to the Civil War when President Lincoln and Congress, in 1862, created the position of commissioner of Internal Revenue and enacted an income tax to pay war expenses. The income tax was repealed 10 years later. Congress revived the income tax in 1894, but the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional the following year.
In 1913, Wyoming ratified the 16th Amendment, providing the three-quarter majority of states necessary to amend the Constitution. The 16th Amendment gave Congress the authority to enact an income tax. That same year, the first Form 1040 appeared after Congress levied a 1 percent tax on net personal incomes above $3,000 with a 6 percent surtax on incomes of more than $500,000.
In 1918, during World War I, the top rate of the income tax rose to 77 percent to help finance the war effort. It dropped sharply in the post-war years, down to 24 percent in 1929, and rose again during the Depression. During World War II, Congress introduced payroll withholding and quarterly tax payments.
In the 50s, the agency was reorganized to replace a patronage system with career, professional employees. The Bureau of Internal Revenue name was changed to the Internal Revenue Service. Only the IRS commissioner and chief counsel are selected by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 prompted the most comprehensive reorganization and modernization of IRS in nearly half a century. The IRS reorganized itself to closely resemble the private sector model of organizing around customers with similar needs.
Wage & Investment Division At-a-Glance
Mission: To provide top quality service by helping taxpayers understand and comply with applicable tax laws and to protect the public interest by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.
Strategic Priorities: The Wage and Investment Division (W&I) supports the IRS' strategic goals and objectives through initiatives that:
Large Business and International Division At-a-Glance
The Large Business and International (LB&I) Division serves corporations, subchapter S corporations, and partnerships with assets greater than $10 million. These businesses typically employ large numbers of employees, deal with complicated issues involving tax law and accounting principles, and conduct business in an expanding global environment.
LB&I is organized into Support and Practice Areas. Support elements use data analysis and an integrated feedback loop to support LB&I’s agile model. The Practice Areas study compliance issues within their area of expertise and suggest campaigns to be included in the compliance plan.
Headquarters and Support:
Practice Areas:
Compliance Practice Areas:
Small Business/Self-Employed Division At-a-Glance
Mission: Help small business and self-employed taxpayers understand and meet their tax obligations, while applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.
Strategic Priorities:
Tax Exempt & Government Entities Division At-a-Glance
Mission: To provide our customers top quality service by helping them understand and comply with applicable tax laws and to protect the public interest by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.
Customers include small local community organizations, municipalities, major universities, large pension funds to small business plans, state governments and participants of complex tax-exempt bond transactions. Customers are divided into three segments:
Activities
(Link: https://www.irs.gov/uac/brief-history-of-irs)