The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reportedly spent $10 million on weapons and tactical equipment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from OpenTheBooks, a nonprofit, nonpartisan government watchdog organization.
As the IRS seeks to hire special agents authorized to carry firearms and make arrests in all 50 states, this recent spending has raised concerns.
The OpenTheBooks report states that 2020 and 2021 marked peak years for the IRS in purchasing weaponry and gear.
During the pandemic, the agency acquired $2.3 million worth of ammunition, $1.2 million in ballistic shields, $474,000 in Smith & Wesson rifles, $463,000 in Beretta 1301 tactical shotguns, and $243,000 in body armor vests.
Before 2020, the IRS had already accumulated 4,500 guns and stockpiled 5 million rounds of ammunition for use by its 2,159 special agents, according to OpenTheBooks.
The arsenal includes 621 pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns, 539 long-barrel rifles, and 15 submachine guns.
The IRS purchased buckshot and slugs for their shotguns, and the rifles are semi-automatic AR-15 (S&W M&P 15) and military-style H&K 416 rifles.
The watchdog organization also highlighted that there are now more federal agents with arrest and firearm authority (200,000) than there are U.S. Marines (186,000).
The IRS’s law enforcement branch, known as the Criminal Investigation (CI) division, is hiring special agents for locations across the United States.
RELATED: After Getting Massive Funding Increase IRS looking to Hire Armed Agents in All 50 States
IRS-CI special agents are the only IRS employees authorized by law to carry and use firearms.
The division investigates financial crimes, money laundering, tax-related identity theft, and terrorist financing efforts.
The “major duties” section of the IRS job posting states that special agents must “[c]arry a firearm; must be prepared to protect him/herself or others from physical attacks at any time and without warning and use firearms in life-threatening situations; must be willing to use force up to and including the use of deadly force.”
Furthermore, special agents must be “willing and able to participate in arrests, execution of search warrants, and other dangerous assignments.” The posting also emphasizes that special agents must maintain a level of fitness necessary to respond effectively to life-threatening situations on the job.
Potential IRS-CI special agents must pass pre-employment medical and tax exams, as well as a drug test. They must also be legally allowed to possess firearms.
