Trish Turner Resigns from IRS Digital Assets Division
Trish Turner has stepped down from her position as the leader of the United States Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) digital assets division after approximately three months in the role.
“After more than 20 years with the IRS, I have closed an extraordinary chapter of my career with deep appreciation for those who shaped my journey and made the work so meaningful,” Turner shared in a LinkedIn post on Friday.
“Together, we navigated complex challenges, built lasting programs, and laid the groundwork for the IRS’s digital asset strategy as it shifted from niche to mainstream,” she added.
Turner did not specify her next steps in her post, but expressed her excitement to “continue this mission from a new vantage point and to build bridges between industry and regulators.”
Bloomberg Tax reported on Friday that Turner mentioned during an interview with them that she will take on the role of tax director at the crypto tax firm Crypto Tax Girl. On the same day, Crypto Tax Girl founder Laura Walter announced in a LinkedIn post that Turner would be joining the firm.
“With all of the big crypto tax and compliance changes on the horizon, we are excited to have Trish on board to help advise our clients,” Walter noted.
Turner’s resignation follows just over three months after she was appointed to lead the digital assets division in May, succeeding Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee and Seth Wilks, two private-sector experts who led the IRS’s crypto unit before leaving after around a year in their positions.
Economist Timothy Peterson remarked on the news, stating, “Trish Turner left the Dark Side to become a Crypto Jedi Knight.”
This development comes in light of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) proposal made in March to reduce the IRS workforce by 20% and various recent updates concerning US crypto taxation.
On July 11, it was reported that the House Committee on Ways and Means and Oversight Subcommittee leadership announced a hearing scheduled for July to focus on “affirmative steps needed to place a tax policy framework on digital assets.”
Just days earlier, on July 4, the US Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration suggested reforms for the IRS criminal investigation division regarding its handling of digital assets, citing recurring failures to adhere to established protocols.
On April 11, US President Donald Trump signed a joint congressional resolution that overturned a rule from the Biden administration era, which would have mandated decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to report transactions to the IRS.
