A proposal by the White House to require banks to report more account deposits or withdrawals to the Internal Revenue Service is facing both political and business opposition from critics who worry it could jeopardize confidence in U.S. banks and violate personal privacy.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Chattanooga, said Wednesday he is co-sponsoring the Protecting Financial Information Act to prohibit the U.S. Treasury from mandating banks, credit unions and other financial service providers to report transactions of $600 or greater.
Currently, financial institutions are only required to disclose cash transactions of $10,000 or more to the Department of the Treasury, but the Biden White House wants to require more bank disclosures to help capture an estimated $460 billion of unpaid taxes, primarily from wealthy Americans.
“Forcing financial institutions to turn over records of all Americans’ transactions of $600 or more violates the financial privacy of every American and will only increase IRS harassment of working Americans and businesses,” Fleischmann said in a statement.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States needs more information from taxpayers to crack down on those who do not pay what they owe.