David J. Kautter is the Acting Commissioner of the IRS. As Acting Commissioner, he presides over the nation’s tax system, which collects approximately $3.4 trillion in tax revenue each year. This revenue funds most government operations and public services. Mr. Kautter manages an agency of about 80,000 employees and a budget of approximately $11 billion. In his role leading the IRS, Mr. Kautter is working to ensure that the agency fulfills its dual mission of serving and providing assistance to taxpayers and enforcing the nation’s tax laws Mr. Kautter also serves as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy. He directs the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy in developing, recommending, and implementing Federal tax policy on behalf of the Department. Previously, Mr. Kautter served as Partner-in-Charge of the Washington National Tax practice for RSM, an audit, tax, and consulting services firm. He was also previously the Managing Director of the Kogod Tax Center and Executive-in-Residence at the Kogod School of Business at American University (AU). Prior to his work at AU, Mr. Kautter spent over 30 years at Ernst and Young, including serving as Director of National Tax for over 13 years. Mr. Kautter also worked on Capitol Hill as Tax Legislative Counsel for former Sen. John C. Danforth of Missouri. He is a high honors graduate of the University of Notre Dame and received his J.D. from Georgetown Law Center.
