Finance Republicans Raise Privacy Concerns with IRS Collaboration
Request information on security, privacy protections for taxpayers
Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Finance Committee Republicans are asking the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for information on a recent collaboration with the non-profit group Code for America (CFA), a partnership aimed at helping Americans file for child tax credits.
In the letter, the members raise several concerns around security and privacy protections, especially in light of the massive leak of private taxpayer information from the IRS to ProPublica, and as Democrats seek to nearly double funding for the IRS.
From the letter:
“With CFA’s evident increased presence in tax preparation activities and endorsement of CFA by the federal government, it is essential that Congress obtain documentation and knowledge that taxpayer privacy protections are not at risk.
“In light of an ongoing purported leak of IRS data to ProPublica that include personally identifiable information and have been used for politicized articles, and given that taxpayer information is supposed to be protected by federal statute and enforcement, it is of utmost importance that privacy protections are closely scrutinized.”
Finance Committee Republicans signing the letter: Mike Crapo (R-Idaho, Ranking Member), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune (R-South Dakota), Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), James Lankford (R-Oklahoma), Todd Young (R-Indiana), and John Barrasso (R-Wyoming).
Read the letter here.
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