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Sens. Cruz, Scott, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Block Democrats’ IRS Spying Proposal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), along with their Republican colleagues, introduced the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act, a bill to prevent the implementation of Democrats’ plan to give the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) access to the banking transaction information of virtually every American.

The bill is cosponsored by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said:

“President Biden is once again following in the footsteps of the Obama administration by planning to weaponize the IRS against Americans. I am proud to join my Republican colleagues on this bill to ensure the Biden administration doesn’t use the federal government to spy on the personal finances of hard working Americans.”

Sen. Scott said:

“The Democrats’ plan to allow the IRS to spy on the bank accounts of nearly every person in this country, even those below the poverty line, should be deeply concerning to anyone who values privacy and economic inclusion. Of the more than 7 million American households that are currently unbanked, the majority are low-income, rural, and minority Americans. Implementing the Biden reporting scheme will disproportionately harm those who need greater access to our financial institutions and people living paycheck to paycheck. My colleagues and I will not stop fighting the Democrats’ wrong-headed proposal to implement more federal government intrusion into our lives.”

Sen. Crapo said:

“Every American should be wary of giving the IRS more power and more tentacles into private financial transactions. The IRS bank reporting proposal is one of the biggest expansions of the agency’s authority we’ve ever seen, and is fundamentally flawed. I’m proud to support Senator Scott’s legislation to stop this proposal in its tracks and protect Americans’ personal, private financial information.”  

Sen. Toomey added:

“The Biden administration’s plan to allow the IRS to monitor Americans’ bank accounts is a dangerous idea that will only prove to be worse over time. Today the administration wants to know your annual account inflows and outflows. What will they demand access to tomorrow? I’m glad to join Senator Scott and Senator Crapo in working to ensure this terribly flawed proposal never sees the light of day.”

BACKGROUND

  • President Biden, Treasury Secretary Yellen, and the Internal Revenue Service are seeking access to every working American’s financial information by requiring banks, credit unions, and apps like PayPal and Venmo, to report to the IRS gross deposits and withdrawals for all business and personal accounts with an annual “flow threshold” as low as $600. Americans who have more than $600 going in or out of an account or payment app during the year would have their financial data reported to the IRS.
  • The “Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act” would prohibit the Biden administration’s proposed IRS power grab, which violates the privacy of each American.
  • Under the Biden reporting regime a family whose monthly expenses total just $50 would have their data reported to the IRS.
  • Nearly every American, even those below the poverty line, would be subject to this proposed reporting regime.
  • The Joint Committee on Taxation has analyzed the proposal and found that it is likely to impact taxpayers in every income bracket, including those making less than $50,000.
  • Steven Rosenthal at the left-leaning Tax Policy Center concluded the bank reporting requirement proposal would, “in fact, bury the agency in a sea of unproductive information.”

Read the full text of the bill here.

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