H&R Block CEO pleased with IRS Security Summit

Tax industry leader promises to continue the race as IRS commissioner ‘passes the baton’ on identity theft

As someone new to the tax preparation category, I was very pleased to learn about the great work and progress that’s been made since this group formed in March 2015. My team has talked to me extensively about Commissioner Koskinen’s focused leadership and the effective and ongoing campaign this team has waged to help prevent stolen identity refund fraud.

As recent events show – the ongoing tax reform discussion, a new IRS commissioner to be named, and three new CEOs to the Security Summit – this forum is at the cusp of change. But one thing that likely will never change is the adaptiveness of criminals. As someone who has experienced dealing with a data breach, I know we can never let up in our fight against cyber-crimes and identity theft. We should expect criminals to continue employing a variety of approaches and tactics to find vulnerabilities in the system, and so I am fully committed to the Security Summit efforts to protect the tax eco-system and to protect the legitimate taxpayer. Security of our clients’ information remains a top priority in the battle against this persistent and evolving threat.

In closing, I thank Commissioner Koskinen for his great leadership, and for his wisdom in initiating this unprecedented collaboration back in 2015. I think of this as the commissioner passing the baton, and I commit to working with my fellow CEOs and the IRS to continue the race. We look forward to continuing the Security Summit’s important work with Deputy Commissioner, Kirsten Wielobob, and leaders across the IRS, states and industry to further develop ways to protect taxpayers.

Thank you.

Jeff Jones

President & Chief Executive Officer
H&R Block