WASHINGTON — One of West Virginia's senators has joined Republican colleagues in introducing the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act, legislation to prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from implementing a plan to give the agency access to transaction information of virtually every American.
“Whether it’s $600 or $10,000, the IRS should not be spying on the bank accounts of millions of everyday Americans. Instead of tackling the dozens of issues facing everyday Americans, Democrats are focused on growing the size of the federal government and intruding in our lives. I’m proud to join my Republican colleagues in taking a stand against Democrats’ proposed power grab at the expense of working Americans and their personal finances,” Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. said on Oct 22.
President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Yellen, and the IRS are seeking access to every working American’s financial information by requiring financial institutions to report to the IRS each and every withdrawal and deposit that total at least $10,000, according to the senators’ announcement. The Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act would prohibit the Biden administration’s “proposed violation of privacy and federal government overreach.”
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, the senators said in their statement, adding that 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.”
In addition to Senators Capito and Scott, the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act is also co-sponsored by Senators 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) Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), 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.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), 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.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).