“Taxpayers or payers have not been and will not be subject to penalties resulting from this action,” the IRS said in a prepared statement.

 Some Congressional reaction was harsh while the America Institute of AICPAs issued a carefully worded statement that the action “was concerning”.

AICPA VP of taxation, Edward Karl said in the statement the “IRS management’s decision to destroy information return documents due to the processing backlog raised numerous questions regarding IRS’s decision making and risk assessment process.”