Crapo files amendment to protect Americans’ privacy from IRS intrusive reporting regime

August 10, 2021

Washington DC. – Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a ranking member of the U.S. Senate finance committee, introduced an amendment to Democrats’ reckless tax and spending legislation to prevent surveillance and disclosure of sensitive information on US taxpayers to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by establishments. The Democrats ‘proposal would require private sector financial institutions to report flows of deposits and withdrawals from their clients’ accounts worth more than $ 600. This comprehensive financial reporting system would take even more resources away from Americans and responsible entrepreneurs, create an unnecessary burden on financial institutions of all sizes, and violate the privacy of nearly all Americans.

“The IRS financial institutions reporting requirement requires financial institutions to report detailed bank account information to the IRS based on vague and ‘flexible’ criteria, such as a threshold of $ 600 and inflows and outflows, which are determined by the IRS ” said Crapo. “This time-consuming burden ignores banking confidentiality in order to extract more resources from Americans and responsible entrepreneurs. It subjects law-abiding Americans to more intense IRS targeting and additional data collection, a concern that was recently magnified by a leak of private taxpayer information out of the IRS. I have long been critical of big data collection activities and oppose the transformation of banks and brokers into government tax collectors. My amendment prevents the undue monitoring and disclosure of sensitive information about US taxpayers to the IRS by financial institutions regarding deposits and withdrawals made by any person or business. ”

the Independent Community Bankers of America, National Association of Credit Unions, American Bankers Association and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions support Crapo’s amendment and expressed strong concerns about the proposed reporting regime, citing concerns about the increased burden on financial institutions; privacy concerns for clients; and other unintended consequences for personal and business account holders across the spectrum.

Privacy concerns at the IRS were only magnified by the glaring apparent leak information on taxpayers outside the agency, with the data ending up in the hands of a media outlet that reported sensationalist and misleading claims about taxes paid by appointees.

Senator Crapo also spoke about the IRS provision of Democrats in previous remarks on the Senate floor.

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