Joe Biden and the IRS Want to Spy on Your Bank Account

Joe Biden and the IRS Want to Spy on Your Bank Account

Joe Biden and the Democrats’ reckless $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree is also a government power grab that violates Americans’ fundamental right to privacy.

October 5, 2021
Joe Biden and the IRS Want to Spy on Your Bank Account

As part of their reckless $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree, Democrats propose granting the IRS sweeping new powers to access sensitive information about most Americans’ bank accounts. Banks and credit unions would be required to report information to the IRS on accounts that have a balance of $600 or more or have more than $600 in transactions.

Industry experts and Republicans say this massive invasion of privacy would be ineffective at stopping tax avoidance. 

Wall Street Journal Editorial: So every American with a job could get looked over. A group of 41 industry groups recently warned congressional leaders that the plan “is not remotely targeted” to detect major tax avoidance. . . Not long ago the confidential tax records of Jeff Bezos, Mike Bloomberg and other wealthy Americans were exposed by ProPublica. Whoever leaked or hacked those records committed a crime, but the IRS has revealed nothing from its promised investigation. Adding bank account info to the IRS trove would risk the disclosure of savings and spending information of political adversaries in the same way.

Twenty-two state treasurers and auditors wrote a letter to Joe Biden and Janet Yellen calling their proposal “one of the largest infringements of data privacy in our nation’s history,” and warned it would undo progress made by local financial institutions.

State Financial Officers’ Foundation: If passed this will be one of the largest and most continuous data mining exercises against Americans in our history and will put a constant strain on customer privacy, data security and overall safety of the banking system. There are no guardrails in place to prevent any abuse of this information by the IRS or other government actors.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell condemned the proposal and promised Republicans would oppose the measure.

Senator Mitch McConnell: So, let’s recap: Democrats want to pile loads of new red tape on small community bankers, hoover up an unprecedented amount of your personal financial data and put it in the trust of a notoriously partisan federal agency. This vast expansion of government surveillance isn’t just unnecessary; it’s downright dangerous. . . I’ve consistently fought against these kinds of liberal power grabs in the past, and I’ll make sure Republicans are united in doing so again.

Bottom Line: Joe Biden and the Democrats’ reckless $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree is also a government power grab that violates Americans’ fundamental right to privacy.