Congressman Blake Moore Joins Congressman Tom Emmer and Colleagues in Sending Letter to Protect the Privacy Rights of Utah Families and Credit Unions from Burdensome Regulations
WASHINGTON – Earlier this week, Congressman Blake Moore joined Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN) in sending a letter to Speaker Pelosi, Ways and Means Chair Neal, Department of Treasury Secretary Yellen, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Rettig to express concern with a recent IRS data collection proposal that will increase tax information reporting requirements on financial institutions.
Specifically, the proposal would require financial institutions and other financial services providers to report certain transaction level data as well as information about the outflows and inflows on accounts over $600 to the IRS every year. The requirements of this proposal would impose significant compliance costs on our banks, credit unions, and related financial institutions, but also infringe on the privacy of millions of Americans.
“I am proud to join Congressman Tom Emmer’s (R-MN) letter to Speaker Pelosi, Ways and Means Chairman Neal, Department of Treasury Secretary Yellen, and Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Rettig expressing concern over a provision being considered for inclusion in the Democrat reconciliation bill that would force banks and credit unions to give Utahns’ private financial information to the government, including information on the inflows and outflows on their personal bank accounts,” said Congressman Blake Moore. “To make matters worse, the antiquated IRS systems that would store this information would make Utahns’ private financial data more vulnerable to being hacked. This provision will particularly hurt Utah families that depend on credit unions and banks in rural and low-income areas by making it more expensive for credit unions to serve these customers.”
“Our Main Street financial institutions are already required to report a tremendous amount of data to the IRS, and the IRS has proven time and time again that they cannot protect this sensitive taxpayer information,” said Congressman Tom Emmer. “Privacy is one of the main reason’s individuals choose not to open bank accounts. This proposal will further exacerbate the divide between the banked, unbanked and underbanked. Not only are there serious privacy implications for the taxpayer and compliance burdens for our financial institutions, but there is also no reason to believe that handing more sensitive information over to the IRS will assist in any way in closing the ‘tax gap’ – the difference between taxes paid and taxes owed by law. We should only legislate when it makes sense, and it must protect Americans and our financial system, not focus on raising revenue at the expense of our taxpayers and financial institutions. House Democrats and the Biden Administration have claimed that this dangerous proposal will help them close the ‘tax gap’. However, they use their careless attempts to further justify outlandish trillion-dollar spending proposals.”
Read the full letter here.
###