Two weeks ago, I noted that the flooding that hit the Washington DC area had shut down the IRS. Well, it looks like the good news is continuing:
The Internal Revenue Service headquarters will remain at least partially closed until January while department officials attempt to repair tens of millions of dollars in damage wrought by last month’s storms, the IRS announced yesterday.
The full extent of the damage to the building at 1111 Constitution Ave. NW is still being assessed, said John Dalrymple, IRS deputy commissioner for operations support. Three million gallons of water flooded parts of the building’s basement and sub-basement during the deluge, ruining air-conditioning equipment and much of the electrical system as well as furniture, flooring and walls.
Unfortunately, we will have to continue paying our taxes:
“Taxpayers should not feel this transition at all,” [IRS Commissioner Mark] Dalrymple said. “I don’t have any indication that any of our operational activities should be impacted. All audits, all collection activities, all tax processes should go on as normal.”
All IRS employees whose work is considered critical returned to work by the end of last week, Dalrymple said, and all headquarters employees should be working within the next few days. More than 800 will work out of leased officesat Crystal Plaza in Arlington, while others will report to the IRS’s 12 satellite offices in the D.C. region. Many employees have been working from home since the June 25 storm, and some will continue to do so until they are allowed back into the Constitution Avenue building.
Oh well, a man can dream can’t he ?
