Unverified claims that the IRS plans to hire a horde of weapon-carrying agents are putting agency employees at risk, said Tony Reardon, longtime leader of the National Treasury Employees Union.

"It places them squarely in danger," Reardon said, referring to charges from Republican politicians that thousands of armed agents would soon be probing Americans’ finances as a result of tax-and-climate law funds.

Reardon, who's worked at NTEU for more than three decades and was first elected national union president in 2015, is set to retire in August. NTEU represents about 65,000 IRS employees as well as workers at dozens of other departments and agencies.

On this week's episode of Talking Tax, he talks with Bloomberg Tax reporter Naomi Jagoda about a range of topics, including how things have changed for IRS employees over the years and how the IRS can improve recruitment and retention.

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