The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that Sunita Lough is returning to her prior position as head of the Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division that includes oversight of municipal bonds.
Lough had moved up to IRS Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement in September 2019.
Her successor in that post is another career IRS manager, Douglas O’Donnell, who had been the Commissioner of the Large Business and International Division since 2015, where he also served as the U.S. Competent Authority.
The administrative shuffle also means that Edward Killen, who had been promoted to Acting Commissioner of TEGE, will return to the role of deputy.
Killen has held several leadership positions, including the IRS Chief Privacy Officer and Senior Advisor to the IRS Deputy Commissioner of Operations Support, among others.
Lough previously served as commissioner of TEGE from 2014 to 2019.
IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said he was implementing the leadership changes “to take on the important challenges ahead.”
"I am eternally grateful to Sunita for her experience, steady leadership, and support during the pandemic, which tested every aspect of the IRS, and I am proud to say we have come through the crisis so far with high marks," Rettig said in a press statement. "Most of her time as deputy commissioner was during the pandemic, and she has overcome every challenge."
The IRS said Lough led IRS efforts in delivering the largest economic rescue package in U.S. history through implementing three rounds of Economic Impact Payments totaling more than $750 billion.
She also was instrumental in efforts to protect the health and safety of IRS employees during the pandemic and assisted in coordinating the transition of IRS operations into a virtual environment.
The IRS also said Lough led the IRS’ significant expansion of multilingual products, services, and outreach efforts into historically underserved communities.
Lough earned an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center and a J.D. degree from George Mason University.
She spent eight years of private practice focusing on tax-exempt bonds and exempt organizations prior to joining the IRS in 1994 as a tax law specialist in the Exempt Organizations Division.
At the IRS she also has worked as a docket attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel and technical advisor to the director, Tax-Exempt Bonds.
From 2003 to 2008, she served as the IRS Director for Federal, State, and Local Governments.
After graduating from the IRS executive development class in 2009, she served as the Director, Exempt Organizations (EO) Examinations until accepting the position Deputy Director, Pre-filing and Technical Guidance, LB&I in December 2009.
She also served as the Director, Pre-filing and Technical Guidance.
Following the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017, she served as the executive project lead for the Tax Reform Implementation Office.
Lough said in the IRS press statement that "helping to lead this agency during the pandemic has been one of the most gratifying things I've done during my career, and I am very grateful to everyone at the IRS.”
“I’m excited to return to TEGE as we work to assure our commitment to strengthening the oversight and services within the TEGE community,” Lough said. “I also look forward to assisting and supporting the new Deputy Commissioner, Services and Enforcement.”
In Lough’s absence, IRS compliance efforts and auditing of tax-exempt bonds dropped significantly.
There was only one announced compliance priority for tax-exempt bonds announced during the first six months of the 2021 fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Only very recently has TEB announced two other priorities and a continuation of its fiscal 2020 priorities.
The Tax-Exempt Bonds unit closed around 200 fewer examinations in fiscal 2020 than had been expected because of the interruption caused by the pandemic.
New examinations were suspended between March 2020 and last July because of COVID-19.
