The public is learning about an Orwellian attempt by the Biden administration to review virtually every bank account of every American under the guise of looking for tax-cheating rich people.
“This is not something Americans will stand for,” Lindsey Curnutte, of Heritage Action, says of the Democratic Party proposal buried in the already-controversial $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that, for now, is at a stalemate in the U.S. Senate.
According to a USA Today story, which downplayed the IRS snooping in a Sept. 29 fact-check, giving the IRS mandatory access to millions of bank accounts is included in a list of “revenue proposals” from the U.S. Treasury Dept. that are intended to “improve tax compliance” by allowing the IRS to watch more closely for tax cheaters.
The public has been misinformed by social media posts about the scope of the IRS monitoring, the USA Today story insists, because the federal government would not monitor your individual transactions. Instead, the new law would require your bank to hand over an annual report to the IRS showing the balance flowing in and out of the account. In other words, the IRS would not review Americans’ grocery lists, ammunition purchases, and church tithes, and only use the report to look for rich tax cheats — with a threshold of $600.
“It’s just a few pieces of information about individual bank accounts,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a congressional committee this week, “nothing at the transaction level that would violate privacy.”
Yet the powerful IRS is infamous for going after political enemies, such as tea party groups that witnessed their non-profit applications get lost, delayed, and ignored during the Obama administration. The federal agency settled a lawsuit with the National Organization for Marriage in 2014 after the group’s donor list was sent by an IRS agent to the Human Rights Campaign, a homosexual lobbying group and a political enemy of the conservative group. From there the information went to the left-wing Huffington Post to attack a one-time donor to NOM named Mitt Romney.
A federal judge ruled the disclosure was a “single employee’s mistake.”
More recently, over the summer, Congress demanded the IRS explain how personal taxpayers’ information ended up at ProPublica, an investigative news outlet. It used the information to publish the “tax secrets” of the wealthiest Americans and shame them for not paying their “fair share” of taxes, a claim that conveniently mirrors President Biden’s claim and his plan to increase taxes on the wealthy.
By the end of summer, Congress was still demanding answers and the IRS had not explained if the tax information was leaked or was stolen.
No right to ‘spy’ on Americans
Nebraska’s state treasurer, John Murante, has said his state government will not comply if the IRS is granted those new powers.
“My message is really simple,” he told Fox Business. “The people of Nebraska entrusted me to protect the privacy of these accounts and I am not going to comply with this.”
“The IRS does not have the right,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) stated in a tweet, “to spy on Americans’ bank accounts.”
“I can assure you that the American people don’t think something like that is routine, and they won’t stand for that,” Curnutte tells American Family News. “If this is something that routinely goes on in the IRS already, then we have some bigger problems to worry about.”
Back in the USA Today fact-checking article, the news publication went to a far-left economic think tank where a spokesman insisted the proposal is about “equity” for poor Americans, who are audited by the IRS while the wealthy are not. That is partly because the federal agency has been “decimated” by a decade of budget cuts, Chuck Marr, a spokesman for the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, said.
For fiscal year 2021, the IRS budget is $12 billion. The Biden administration is proposing to add $8 billion to that budget for 2022 as part of a 10-year plan to increase funding and grow the federal agency.
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Copyright American Family News. Reprinted with permission.
“In other words, the IRS would not review Americans’ grocery lists, ammunition purchases, and church tithes, and only use the report to look for rich tax cheats — with a threshold of $600.”
Rich tax cheaters with a threshold of $600—hmmmmmmmm.
Yea, i had to do a double take on that. MOST TAX CHEETS are 40k + region. NOT 600$?
And if they really wanted to combat ‘tax cheets’, HOWS ABOUT GOING THE HELL after all the illegal invaders, and ID THEFT cretins, who ROUTINELY STEAL MILLIONS, if not Billions of OUR DOLLARS< with their fraudulent tax records!
Sonofthunder, beware,! Biig Government is watching you . ! “To each, according to their needs…” Comrade!
Its not paranoia, when they are actually out to get you.
This is absolutely incredible, and if it gets close to becoming law there should be a massive uprising. This is the final straw in the morphing of the United States bureaucracy into the East German Staci model. As expected the leftist USA Today tries lamely to rationalize it with comments such as “………..the IRS would not review Americans’ grocery lists, ammunition purchases, and church tithes, and only use the report to look for rich tax cheats — with a threshold of $600.” WHAT? Are they saying that only millionaire tax cheats spend or deposit more than $600 at a time? Can you imagine what a tool this could be for political purposes to defeat political opposition? Wake up America
How many more “Final straws” must there be, before we REVOLT!
Every time the left wing liberal democrats try to destroy our constitutional rights they bring us closer and closer to that second American revolution that people have been talking about for years. Something has to happen for us to purge all democrats from our governments at all levels, from county clerks to presidents. That’s the only way we will save this country from total destruction by the democrats.
AND If/when we DO “revolt” we need to NOT TAKE a single libtard prisoner..
Big Governmen’t get away with what big Government has gotten away with for Years, I, like you and many other conservative American just hope nig Government can be Stopped from taking over every detail of their lives. Wake up, America!
Just make the tax a flat tax straight across the board. Then let the feds and states work within their means. I know this is a pipe dream.
Eliminate all tax credits, eliminate all tax deductions, eliminate all tax loopholes, and safe havens.. EVERYONE PAYS A FLAT 10%… period!
At a level of $600 it isn’t about catching rich tax cheats. It is about knowing how much money, and basic transactions they normally carry out, the average American has so that when they fully implement socialism they know what they can take from you.
The current level of reporting transactions is $10,000 and even that is a pain for financial institutions. It is meant to try to catch tax frauds and illegal dealings like drug dealers. It still means others who are doing perfectly legal things such as selling/buying a car for cash are reported.
The IRS has done enough damage to our Republic it doesn’t need another excuse. What should happen are suits claiming unreasonable searches under the Fourth Amendment of The Constitution. Some judge and/or jury might be sympathetic enough to get the ball rolling through the courts. In which case the plaintiffs should have compensation awarded!
That’s a big if.. Seeing the # of judges out there, who REFUSED to even LISTEN To fraud cases in 2020, i am not so sure any are willing to hear suits against the IRS..
“Back in the USA Today fact-checking article, the news publication went to a far-left economic think tank where a spokesman insisted the proposal is about “equity” for poor Americans, who are audited by the IRS while the wealthy are not.”
Oh, really? Then somebody must have drained the thoughts out of the tank. Maybe one of those Progressive economic ‘geniuses’ could THINK about taking the money they spend on auditing poor Americans and spend it on auditing the wealthy instead.
I suppose Hunter will be exempt as well as the other members of the Biden crime family. How about the Clinton foundation, you know that influence selling arm for the Clintons
Obvious there is some sinister reason for Dem run govt to grant themselves legal access to monitor & maintain records for $600 inflow & outflow of every citizen which has nothing to do with income taxes.
Almost impossible for working class citizens to significantly evade or cheat on our taxes since our employers withhold & send our taxes direct to govt every payday & our banks & 401k money managers report every dime of our taxable income to govt.
This privacy & income monitoring legislation by Dem govt to ignore the obvious big time tax cheats in Congress & Corp America & illegal alien income & welfare fraud is similar to their gun control by which they don’t bother to do anything about the criminals with illegal guns but instead try to prevent law abiding citizens from having legal guns.
Apple refused to decrypt a terrorist phone for govt so we must demand our banks refuse to monitor & report citizens $600 money inflow / outflow to govt.
Btw, it’s scary how left wing Marxists via Dem Party have assumed life & death control & power over US citizens.
Checkout cancelthiscompany.com for just how bad things really are.
WE all need to let our banks, know we WON’T go quietly without a fight.. LETS hope they listen.
This is why many many are now only keeping the bare minimum in their accounts. Money orders are the way to go. Yes it cost a little more but it is still so far a little more private.