Drita Tonuzi was appointed Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations) on April 1, 2017.

As one of two Chief Counsel Deputies, Ms. Tonuzi provides legal guidance and litigation support to the Internal Revenue Service and the Departments of Treasury and Justice in all matters pertaining to the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws. This includes responsibility for all litigation in the United States Tax Court as well as the management of personnel in fifty field offices nationwide and in headquarters operations in Washington, D.C. She directly supervises nine Divisions including Large Business and International (LB&I), Small Business/Self Employed (SB/SE), Tax Exempt and Governmental Entities (TEGE), Wage and Investment (W&I), General Legal Services (GLS), Criminal Tax (CT), Procedure and Administration (P&A), Finance and Management (F&M) and Counsel to the National Taxpayer Advocate (CNTA).

Prior to her position as Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations), Ms. Tonuzi was the Associate Chief Counsel, Procedure and Administration, where she was responsible for providing legal services to the IRS, other components of the Chief Counsel’s Office, other government agencies, and the public in the areas of federal tax procedure and administration. The responsibilities of this office include matters relating to the reporting and payment of taxes; assessment and collection of taxes; the abatement, credit or refund of over-assessments or overpayments of taxes; the filing of information returns; bankruptcy; disclosure; FOIA; privacy law; litigation sanctions; judicial doctrines; ethics; and liaison with the courts.

Ms. Tonuzi began her career with the Office of Chief Counsel in 1987 in the Manhattan Office. She litigated dozens of cases before the United States Tax Court. In 2005, she was selected as the Deputy Division Counsel for the Large Business & International Division (formerly LMSB), where she was responsible for the operation and litigation of the organization.

Ms. Tonuzi served as an adjunct tax professor at Brooklyn Law School for over ten years and at the New York Law School Graduate Tax Program. Early in her career, she was an associate at a small Wall Street firm and from 2000 to 2001, she was a Senior Manager at Deloitte in the Tax Controversy and Financial Services groups.

Ms. Tonuzi received her B.A. from Brooklyn College and her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. She has an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University. She is admitted to practice in New York and California and before the United States Tax Court and the Federal District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.