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- By Chez Oxendine
- Finance
The Internal Revenue Service has cut roughly half the staff at an agency office dedicated to helping tribes navigate complex tax issues, Tribal Business News has learned.
The IRS terminated approximately 30 employees on probation from the Office of Indian Tribal Governments (ITG), representing roughly half of the office’s workforce. Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed the cuts, which occurred last week as part of broader IRS staff reductions that dismissed about 6,700 workers across the agency.
ITG serves as the official contact point between the IRS and tribes, providing assistance on issues like employment tax, excise taxes, and audits. IRS policy designates ITG as the primary liaison for tribal governments, facilitating coordination and compliance. The staff cuts at ITG could delay these critical first conversations and limit tribal access to the broader IRS, according to tribal tax experts.
The reductions also diminish expertise on unique tribal tax laws. While tribes are generally tax exempt, they still manage excise and employment taxes. Recent tax code updates have clarified exemptions for tribal businesses and created new tax credit opportunities, leaving tribes with questions and fewer staff to answer them.
“Tribes will have less access,” Telly Meier, partner at law firm Hobbs, Straus, Dean, and Walker, told Tribal Business News. Meier served as the director for ITG from 2012 to 2023. “There’s going to be fewer people at the agency who are prepared to help with those unique challenges that tribes face.”
Other tribal tax and finance experts across Indian Country echoed the sentiment. Speaking on background, a former tribal CFO said ITG was the first point of contact for audits, and ITG agents are specially trained to handle tribal tax law. Losing roughly half of the office will leave that office “overwhelmed,” the person said.
The Trump administration has planned a wide range of planned tax cuts and revisions that could further complicate matters. Tribal tax experts, who did not want their names used, suggested that tribes facing audits or requiring assistance to familiarize themselves with ITG’s website, as well as reach out to organizations like NAFOA (formerly Native American Financial Officers' Association). Advice directly from the IRS could be at a premium with fewer staff on hand, one of the experts said, so locating a potential source of information elsewhere is an important step.
“If your tribe doesn’t have a tax lawyer or someone familiar with tribal tax law, they should get one,” the former tribal finance executive said. “You need to be prepared to advocate for yourselves in an audit situation, or have someone who can help you ask the right questions about your situations — someone familiar with your tribe who knows the ins and outs of your finances.”
NAFOA Director of Communications and Digital Engagement Bettina Cecilia Gonzalez said the organization didn’t have direct comment on the cuts, but is monitoring the situation to “assess full effects on tribal nations.”
“We have observed that recent decisions and actions at the agency level have impacted Tribal Nations' ability to provide essential services, with communications that have been unclear or, in some cases, non-existent,” Gonzalez wrote in an email to Tribal Business News. “NAFOA and our partners are working strategically and intentionally to address matters directly affecting Tribal Nations during this administrative transition.”
Part of that work includes ongoing advocacy in response to the Trump administration’s broad cuts to tribal services, in turn amid a government-wide reduction in force. NAFOA strongly urged tribes to document challenges and issues raised as a result of service loss. The group also urged federal agencies to maintain services crucial to fulfilling tribal trust and treaty obligations.
That will help Indian Country communicate its needs to policy makers down the line, Gonzalez wrote.
“It is critical that Tribal Nations clearly articulate to policymakers and incoming officials how federal decisions affect their governance and service delivery to tribal communities,” Gonzalez wrote. “Whether these impacts are temporary or prolonged, we must collectively build relationships and communicate our positions on important policy matters with clarity and authority.”
The IRS press office has not responded to multiple requests by Tribal Business News for comment or an interview about the reported cuts.
Brian Edwards provided reporting.
