DOGE’s request for IRS data systems access may pose risks to tax filers

(CNN) 鈥� The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) 鈥� the special entity created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk to bring about greater 鈥済overnmental efficiency and productivity鈥� 鈥� has been right in the middle of tax-filing season.

The IRS, of course, has extensive and complex data systems containing highly sensitive personal and financial information on more than 100 million individual tax filers and businesses. Those systems are often interconnected, and making changes in one can have a knock-on effect on others, according to Terry Milholland, who served as IRS chief technology officer from 2008 to 2016.

The mere fact that DOGE is seeking such quick access has been alarming to many people for a number of reasons 鈥� including the potential that DOGE team members may access some types of tax data illegally, even if inadvertently 鈥� or illegally expose that data to third parties. Additionally, neither lawmakers nor the public have been given any clear sense as to what DOGE鈥檚 plans are for using the data it does access. (Alarm is so great that a group of taxpayer advocates, small business groups and unions filed an emergency suit in federal court to 鈥渉alt DOGE鈥檚 unfettered and lawless access to personal data at levels (that) endanger the privacy of hundreds of millions of Americans.鈥�)

On top of those serious concerns, DOGE most immediately may pose risks to Americans who are preparing to file their taxes now, as the group presses the IRS for access to its systems, noted John Koskinen, who served as IRS commissioner from late December 2013 to mid-November 2017.

鈥淭hey run the risk of inadvertently triggering errors and having the (tax-filing) system shut down,鈥� Koskinen said. He noted that even the IRS typically doesn鈥檛 tinker with its systems during the filing season because everyone鈥檚 priority at the agency is to ensure a smooth experience. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see the urgency or the rush. The systems aren鈥檛 going anywhere.鈥�

And, he added, 鈥淚 would think anyone with knowledge of IT and an understanding of the complexity of the tax filing season would stay away鈥� 鈥� at least until early summer, when the bulk of the more than 140 million returns the IRS is expecting will have been filed.

Potential problems that could hurt tax filers

With DOGE at the IRS, what might make it more difficult for a filer to get their refund in a timely way, look up their tax data online, upload a document or even file their return?

Distractions: The mere presence of DOGE at the agency in the middle of tax-filing season is taking up the time and energy of IRS employees who otherwise should be fully focused on the smooth functioning of the systems for tax season, Koskinen said.

Lack of sufficient training to use the systems: Whichever systems DOGE team members are hoping to navigate, it takes a fair amount of training to do so capably, said Mark Mazur, a former director at the IRS Office of Research, Analysis and Statistics and a former assistant secretary for tax policy at the US Treasury. 鈥淵ou鈥檇 need some IRS employees to help you, (especially) not to screw something up.鈥�

Misinterpretations and misguided orders: To the extent DOGE wants to root out what it assumes is waste, fraud and abuse, there鈥檚 a high risk that DOGE members may misinterpret the data they are viewing. Unless you have experience working with the data and understand the complexities of, say, a particular tax measure, it鈥檚 easy to misunderstand what the data you鈥檙e looking at represents, Mazur said.

And, whether a DOGE team member manually tinkers with a given system or simply orders an IRS employee to stop a given function, there鈥檚 potential for system interruption.

For instance, Mazur said, 鈥淪omeone from DOGE might say this group getting a refund needs to be looked at more.鈥� Or, he noted, someone might see a certain tax credit is being paid to a group of filers who don鈥檛 have Social Security numbers, and they may wrongly assume that鈥檚 fraud, even though there are circumstances in which the IRS assigns different IDs to filers who are eligible to claim a given benefit.

Put simply: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to think they know what they鈥檙e doing and they won鈥檛,鈥� Mazur said.

Navigating intricate systems

Milholland said he is not comfortable with the idea of an outside group like DOGE possibly making changes to systems they have no experience with.

鈥淵ou have to have deep knowledge of how the pieces fit together. It鈥檚 a well-honed machine designed years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f DOGE wants to go in and make changes, God help us. If they want read-only access for political purposes 鈥� fine. But don鈥檛 give them write access.鈥�

In fact, Milholland noted, the IRS career employees who understand the systems best 鈥� and, in particular, the older programming languages still used to keep the data systems operating smoothly 鈥� are nearing retirement. If they decide they鈥檝e had enough and leave early 鈥� or are pushed out prematurely through DOGE-ordered layoffs, 鈥測ou don鈥檛 have people who can change this stuff,鈥� he said.

That worry also speaks to Mazur鈥檚 biggest concern with DOGE鈥檚 rushed push to get into the IRS systems.

鈥淥ne thing that sort of sums up my concerns is the Silicon Valley tech bro ethos of 鈥榤ove fast and break things.鈥� I am worried about the potential large-scale consequences if they break things like the IRS data systems or the federal government payment systems because these could affect large numbers of regular Americans,鈥� he said.

Particular to this tax-filing season, Koskinen notes that any mid-stream changes to data systems or potential IRS layoffs that materially may affect taxpayers鈥� filing experience will be noticed. 鈥淚t runs the risk of making life very difficult for tax filers and tax preparers. Filers aren鈥檛 just Democrats. They鈥檙e Republicans and Independents. It makes absolutely no sense,鈥� he said.

The-CNN-Wire