Barr leaving IRS for Dell

Robert Barr, who helped fast-forward the Internal Revenue Service into the

Information Age, is leaving government to join Dell Computer Corp. as director

of federal marketing.

As the IRS' assistant commissioner for electronic tax administration, Barr

has been responsible for laying out a strategic plan to meet the congressional

goal of 80 percent of all taxpayers filing online by 2007.

"I set a goal for myself that I would remain in public service long enough

to believe that the snowball was unstoppable. I firmly believe it at this

point," Barr said in a telephone interview Thursday.

"E-business at the IRS is engaged, and it is the future of the agency,"

Barr added.

Since Barr's arrival at the agency three years ago, electronic payments

have grown from $384 million to $1.5 billion annually; electronic filing

of tax returns has increased from 19 million to 34.5 million, and the IRS

Web site has gone from its infancy to 1.5 billion hits per year.

"In the last three years, filing taxes electronically has soared," IRS commissioner

Charles Rossotti. "During this period, Bob Barr has skillfully managed this

key program for the IRS."

Barr will be replaced by Terry Lutes, who will be the acting ETA commissioner.

Lutes most recently worked for the IRS at its Martinsburg, Va., computing

center.

Prior to joining the IRS in October 1997, Barr served as a vice president

at Intuit Inc., the developer of Quicken and TurboTax.