Green Screens and Pink Slips: An IRS Agent's Layoff Story
What happens when political changes collide with tax enforcement? In this revealing conversation, former IRS revenue agent Jeff Johnson shares his firsthand account of being caught in the recent mass layoffs at the IRS. Having just completed seven months of intensive training, Jeff was among 7,000 probationary employees suddenly terminated as part of a broader federal workforce reduction initiative.
Jeff pulls back the curtain on the agency's antiquated systems—including 1960s COBOL programming and cryptic green screens that revenue agents must master—and explains why these cuts could mean fewer audits of non-compliant taxpayers. You'll hear how experienced professionals who left established careers to serve at the IRS were dismissed with minimal notice and why this might be just the beginning of a much more significant reduction targeting up to half of the agency's 90,000 workforce.
Meet Our Guest, Jeff Johnston
Jeff pulls back the curtain on the agency's antiquated systems—including 1960s COBOL programming and cryptic green screens that revenue agents must master—and explains why these cuts could mean fewer audits of non-compliant taxpayers. You'll hear how experienced professionals who left established careers to serve at the IRS were dismissed with minimal notice and why this might be just the beginning of a much more significant reduction targeting up to half of the agency's 90,000 workforce.
Meet Our Guest, Jeff Johnston
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Transcripts
The full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page
Creators and Guests

Guest
Jeff Johnston
Jeff Johnston is an Attorney, CPA and Writer with 30 years of business, legal, and accounting skills that, up until recently, were being used in service to the United States as an IRS Revenue Agent.
