Tamera Ripperda, who leads the IRS's Exempt Organizations and Government Entities Division, announced that she plans to retire after more than 30 years with the service, said Accounting Today. Though her career in the IRS has been long—she  began working at the IRS’s Exempt Organizations unit in 1988 as a revenue agent—she has headed her current division only since last year, after having been deputy commission for the previous three years, succeeding Sunita Lough, who became the IRS deputy commissioner for services and enforcement. Between 2016 and 2019, Ripperda served as deputy commissioner of the Small Business/Self-Employed division. Prior to that, she had been the director of the Exempt Organizations division, replacing the previous head, Lois Lerner, who had been the subject of intense criticism for delaying applications for 501(c)4 tax-exempt status from various political groups.