Roscoe L. Egger, Jr.

Roscoe Lynn Egger Jr. (September 19, 1920 – October 14, 1999) served as Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 1981 to 1986 and received the Tax Executive Institute's Distinguished Service Award in 1986. He led the Internal Revenue Service through a tumultuous time in its history and pushed for numerous reforms in order to modernize the tax service.

Early life Roscoe L. Egger Jr. was born in Jackson, Michigan, on September 19, 1920. He attended Indiana University Bloomington for his undergraduate work before serving in the Army. His actions in Europe during World War II earned him a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

After being discharged from the Army, Egger earned a law degree from George Washington University Law School. He worked for the General Accounting Office after graduation, and later worked as a private tax accountant. He joined Price Waterhouse in 1956.

Egger immediately became involved in Price Waterhouse's tax practice as a specialist. He was partner in charge of the firm's tax practice at its Washington, D.C. office before heading Price Waterhouse's newly formed Office of Government Services upon its creation in 1973. Egger continued in this role until he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to be tax commissioner on January 24, 1981.

Tax Commissioner He became the second CPA to head the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

While the "return free" system has never been implemented, today's omnipresence of computers and the rise of the internet led to the availability of online filing. The ability to file online and have the return completed by a computer is similar to the simplicity of the "return free" system in many respects.

Later life Egger left the IRS in 1990 and returned to Price Waterhouse as a consultant. He retired to Green Valley, Arizona, and died at the age of 79 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on October 14, 1999, following heart surgery.