The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others. The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency's 345 estate-tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, within 70 days. Kevin Brown, an IRS deputy commissioner, confirmed the cuts. The Bush administration has successfully lobbied Congress to enact measures that reduce the number of Americans subject to the estate tax — which opponents refer to as the "death tax" — but has failed to eliminate the tax. Brown said in a telephone interview Friday that he had ordered the cuts because far fewer people were obliged to pay estate taxes under President Bush's legislation.