10.26.21

Republicans United Against IRS Dragnet

All 50 Republicans Are Cosponsoring Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) Bill To Prohibit Democrats’ Proposal To Have The IRS Snoop On Americans’ Financial Transactions, ‘To Essentially Treat Everybody Like They’re Under Audit’

SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “The biggest tax hikes in 50 years. The biggest peacetime tax hikes ever recorded in American history. That is what Washington Democrats are cooking up. Our Democratic colleagues and President Biden are behind closed doors, dreaming up creative new ways to grab historic amounts of the American people’s money. Remember, the same socialist spending plans that Democrats claim cost zero dollars somehow also need staggering new tax hikes to pay for them. So — even with significant inflation, runaway gas prices, and runaway energy costs already hitting American families in their pocketbooks — Washington Democrats have spent months dreaming up new cash grabs for the IRS. Democrats have talked about massively hiking business taxes, to a level that would leave American industries paying more than their competitors in Communist China. They’ve talked about jacking up marginal income tax rates in ways that would hammer small businesses and family businesses that file as pass-throughs. They’ve talked about adding a second death tax to give the IRS an even bigger bite out of family farms.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 10/25/2021)

  • LEADER McCONNELL: “They’ve even proposed something that our country has never seen before: A new IRS surveillance dragnet where the IRS would get to track ordinary citizens’ inflows and outflows. Banks and credit unions would be forced to hand over Americans’ private information to the IRS. The Democrats are so desperate to shake down the American people for money that they’re proposing to essentially treat everybody like they’re under audit!” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 10/25/2021)

 

Sens. Tim Scott, Mike Crapo, And Pat Toomey Have Introduced Legislation To Prevent The IRS From Digging Through Ordinary Americans’ Financial Transactions

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC), lead sponsor of the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act: “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. Tim Scott, Press Release, 10/21/2021)

SEN. MIKE CRAPO (R-ID), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member: “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. Tim Scott, Press Release, 10/21/2021)

SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA), Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member: “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.” (Sen. Tim Scott, Press Release, 10/21/2021)

All 50 Senate Republicans are cosponsors of the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act. (S.3056, 117th Congress)

 

Even Some Democrats Have Harshly Criticized This Proposal: ‘Do You Understand How Messed Up That Is Thinking Uncle Sam’s Going To Be Watching,’ ‘That Dog Won’t Hunt’

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): “They [the IRS] were never enabled to go into bank accounts to point to the average individual, and I told them, the president and I had this conversation. I said, ‘Mr. President, I don’t know who put this out and how it got screwed up.’ When they said basically we’re going to start looking at $600 transactions—even if it’s $10,000, okay—that’s only $800, $900 a [month], and I said, ‘Do you understand how messed up that is, thinking Uncle Sam’s going to be watching—what it does for bankers and this and that.’ And I told him, I said, ‘Mr. President, I don’t know what happened. This cannot happen. It’s screwed up.’” (Sen. Manchin, The Economic Club of Washington, DC, 10/26/2021)

REP. CHARLIE CRIST (D-FL): “Floridians depend on their banks and credit unions to secure more than just deposits. They depend on them to safeguard their personal information…. I am deeply concerned about the proposal to expand IRS reporting requirements for bank accounts. Working people with $10,000 in annual deposits are hardly the top 1%. Allowing the IRS to data mine checking accounts raises serious privacy red flags and would increase costs, while targeting hardworking Floridians who are already struggling to get by. I will not support any IRS account reporting requirements that go after the middle class and working families. That dog won’t hunt.” (Rep. Crist, Press Release, 10/21/2021)

 

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SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Related Issues: IRS