Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-01) joined her colleagues in sending a letter to Speaker Pelosi, Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig voicing serious concerns about a recent IRS data collection proposal that would require financial institutions to report additional information on transactions over $600 to the IRS. In addition to the significant compliance costs this would impose on community banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions, it would give the IRS massively expanded access to sensitive taxpayer information.
“I adamantly oppose the new IRS data collection proposal that would impose burdensome regulations on community financial institutions, ultimately hurting the small businesses and families they serve. This would also threaten individual privacy by giving the IRS more access to the sensitive personal information of taxpayers, despite the agency’s proven inability to safeguard against data breaches.
“Piling the paperwork on community financial institutions and forcing taxpayers to hand over more of their personal information in a misguided effort to close the tax gap is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole–it makes no sense.
“The IRS should improve its operations and efficiency to close the tax gap instead of passing the responsibility onto private financial institutions and threatening the privacy of millions of Americans in the process.”
