President Biden and Speaker Pelosi are moving full speed ahead with their big government, big spending vision for this country. Their radical, multi-trillion dollar reconciliation package is nearing completion. As we learn more about what they want included, it seems like each addition is worse than the last. One particularly egregious proposal would give the IRS access to nearly every single Americans’ bank account by requiring financial institutions, like your local bank or credit union, to report every transaction of $600 or more to the IRS. It would even require them to hand over information regarding every account with more than $600 sitting in it.
That means every time you spend or earn $600, the Biden Administration’s IRS will know about that transaction. That’s a trip to the grocery store, a repair on farm equipment, a paycheck, a Venmo transfer to your kids—all in the hands of President Biden’s IRS. Why does the government need this data? There’s no justifiable answer. This government snooping is a complete invasion of privacy and a massive overreach into our lives and livelihoods.
This spying scheme is a lose-lose-lose. Not only will it increase the existing IRS backlog exponentially, but it also risks compromising the account security of Americans and destroying our community financial institutions.
Everyone should pay the taxes they owe — that is not the argument here. This misguided proposal isn’t about tracking down missing revenue, it is about expanded government control. The IRS’s own explanation is that it wants to “create a comprehensive financial account information reporting regime.” Americans want freedom, not to live under an IRS “regime.
The IRS moves at a glacial pace, perpetually lagging at processing refunds and tax returns. We do not need to throw more money at the agency to hire more auditors, to put Americans’ daily transactions under a microscope. The IRS should be more efficient at its current job, not emboldened to further target Americans.
Let’s not forget, the IRS has a well-documented history of data breaches and mishandling sensitive taxpayer information with no accountability or repercussions. Just months into the Biden Administration, the IRS leaked highly sensitive, confidential taxpayer information to ProPublica. And not a single IRS employee was held responsible for targeting conservatives during the Obama Administration. Given this concerning history, it makes absolutely no sense to send even more taxpayer data their way.
Iowans have been very clear with me – they do not want President Biden’s IRS snooping in their bank accounts. I’ve also heard serious concerns from community financial institutions, who help farmers, families, and small businesses access credit. They told me this proposal would force them to shut down for good, leaving Iowans without access to the credit and capital they need to keep our economy going.
That’s why I introduced the Protecting Financial Privacy Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. My bill is simple—it would block the proposed $600 transaction reporting requirement and safeguard taxpayers against this extreme intrusion and overreach.
President Biden’s IRS should not be able to monitor when you go to Hy-Vee or Costco or pay your utility bills. Let’s stop this madness by passing the Protecting Financial Privacy Act and keeping the government out of your bank account.
Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-01)
