IRS says it’s waiting for approval to release data on Trump’s 2025 tax cuts. Then a former taxpayer advocate alleges the CEO is hiding something

The IRS is currently withholding detailed data that shows how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump impacted millions of Americans, The New Republic reports. This information was originally slated for release in July, with an expected update in September, but the agency has failed to file either report as of Wednesday. The agency claims it is still waiting for approval from the Treasury Department to share these figures.

Nina Olson, a former national taxpayer advocate, has come forward with some pretty serious allegations against the IRS chief executive officer, Frank Bisignano. She believes the delay is intentional. “I think they are hiding stuff that doesn’t line up with all the crowing the CEO has been doing,” she said.

There is also a question of whether the Treasury Department even has the authority to block this release. Barry Johnson, a former top IRS official, noted that the law actually allows the IRS to determine when to release the data. He pointed out that the current situation is unusual. He mentioned that the data could become quite embarrassing if it shows that the tax burden shifted between income groups or if a suspicious number of people claimed certain breaks.

The data is meant to reveal the real impact of these policies and whether they actually lived up to the promises made by Republicans

Of course, it is possible the reasons for the delay are less sinister. Johnson pointed out that it is hard to know for sure what is happening behind the scenes. “There’s all sorts of things it could be—you can’t know until you see the data whether it’s they don’t like the answers, or whether the data themselves really isn’t useful,” Johnson said. It is also possible that the sheer complexity of the tax code, specifically the many carve-outs and exemptions in the 2025 tax cuts, has made the data difficult for the IRS to compile in the first place.

This is not the first time the IRS has faced scrutiny for keeping information under wraps. The agency has already dealt with criticism for withholding its report on the tax gap, which covers how many taxes are owed but remain unpaid.

We already know that the 2025 tax cuts have been tough on many people. The legislation has effectively saved money for wealthy business owners, corporations, estate heirs, and high-income taxpayers. Meanwhile, these same policies are driving Social Security toward insolvency.