IRS Shutdown impacts Western Pennsylvania Taxpayers

About half of the roughly 500 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees in Western Pennsylvania have been furloughed, and walk-in offices from Erie to Uniontown are closed due to the federal government shutdown, according to the union representing these employees.

This news follows the IRS’s announcement on Wednesday that it planned to furlough almost half of its employees nationwide while the government remains unfunded.

elizabeth McPeak, first vice president of National treasury Employees Union Chapter 34, which represents IRS employees across Western Pennsylvania, said furloughed staff were told to leave work midday Wednesday.

“We want to work. We took these jobs to serve America,” McPeak said in a news release. “we are people, not political pawns. We ask Congress to do its job. End the shutdown and let us return to work.”

The furloughs have led to the closure of taxpayer services, including walk-in IRS offices in Pittsburgh, Cranberry, Monroeville, Erie, Johnstown, and altoona, according to NTEU 34.

Most local IRS taxpayer advocates – who help resolve intricate tax issues – have been sent home. Also, many local examiners, who make sure companies and international businesses pay their taxes, have been furloughed.

Most of the furloughed employees in the area work in Downtown Pittsburgh.

An IRS representative did not respond to a request for comment.

The Associated Press reported that a notice to IRS employees stated furloughed workers and those still on the job will receive back pay. The AP also noted that only 53.6% of the IRS’s national workforce is still working, and most services will remain closed until the government shutdown ends.