Personal Income Tax Information Must Stay Private

Personal Income Tax Information Must Stay Private

Tuesday April 04, 2006

"As the deadline for filing your income tax return approaches, the Internal Revenue Service is proposing a new rule that would allow tax preparers to sell your personal tax information to the highest bidder. Under this rule, information such as statements of income, financial records, and receipts could be sold to telemarketers, junk mailers, or e-mail spammers.

The IRS would require taxpayers to provide signed consent for the release of their information to be sold. However, as anyone who has had their taxes prepared by a professional knows, there are countless forms that need to be signed throughout the process and an unethical tax preparer could have an unsuspecting client unknowingly sign the release.

At a time when technology makes it so easy for criminals to engage in identity theft and other types of financial fraud, our government cannot put a "for sale" sign on our personal financial information. This proposal would prey on the most vulnerable, who might not understand that they are signing a release to allow their personal financial information to be sold.

This rule may also open the door for unscrupulous tax preparers to offer a discounted fee for clients who agree to have their information sold or to only accept the returns of late-filers that give consent to release their records in order to avoid trouble with the IRS.

Whatever the consequences of this rule, it is a terrible idea and I will work with my colleagues in Congress to make sure it is never enacted."

http://carolynmccarthy.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=545&ParentID=0&SectionID=32&SectionTree=32&lnk=b&ItemID=536