GOP Lawmakers Say Bank Reporting Proposal Would Impose Burdens

September 13, 2021

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Janet Yellen
Secretary, US Department of Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20220

The Honorable Richard Neal
Chairman, Ways and Means
372 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Charles P. Rettig
Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20224

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Neal, Secretary Yellen, and Commissioner Rettig:

We are concerned about a recent IRS data collection proposal to increase tax information reporting requirements on financial institutions, which we do not believe are necessary or helpful toward closing the “tax gap.”

The recent spending proposal to include new tax information reporting requirements for financial institutions would not only impose significant compliance costs on our banks, credit unions, and related financial institutions that have served as the backbone of this economy these past 18 months, but also infringe on the privacy of millions of Americans.

Specifically, such a proposal would require financial institutions and other financial services providers report information about the outflows and inflows on accounts over $600 to the IRS every year. However, financial institutions currently report a tremendous amount of data to the IRS, and no evidence has shown that the proposed requirements would substantially aid the IRS's efforts to close the tax gap beyond the information already at the IRS's disposal.

Not only would such an overly comprehensive IRS database require significant resources to build, maintain, and protect, but it would make the personal, financial data of millions of Americans vulnerable to attack. Considering the IRS experiences 1.4 billion cyberattacks annually and has experienced multiple data breaches, we should not give this agency additional sensitive data to manage.

Additionally, privacy is one of the primary reasons individuals choose not to open bank accounts. This overreaching proposal, if adopted, would further exacerbate banked/unbanked/underbanked divides.

We ask you to address our concerns as we work to craft a regulatory environment focused on protecting Americans and our financial system, not one focused on raising revenue at the expense of our taxpayers and financial institutions.

Sincerely,

Tom Emmer
Member of Congress

Pete Sessions
Member of Congress

Ann Wagner
Member of Congress

Bob Gibbs
Member of Congress

Jeff Duncan
Member of Congress

Andy Barr
Member of Congress

Ralph Norman
Member of Congress

Randy K. Weber
Member of Congress

Blaine Luetkemeyer
Member of Congress

Ted Budd
Member of Congress

Ashley Hinson
Member of Congress

Alex X. Mooney
Member of Congress

Adrian Smith
Member of Congress

Barry Loudermilk
Member of Congress

Warren Davidson
Member of Congress

Tom Cole
Member of Congress

Roger Williams
Member of Congress

Brad R. Wenstrup, D.P.M
Member of Congress

Scott DesJarlais, M.D.
Member of Congress

David Kustoff
Member of Congress

Austin Scott
Member of Congress

Earl L. “Buddy” Carter
Member of Congress

Mark E. Green, M.D.
Member of Congress

David Schweikert
Member of Congress

Frank D. Lucas
Member of Congress

Lloyd Smucker
Member of Congress

Rick Allen
Member of Congress

Tracey Mann
Member of Congress

Lee Zeldin
Member of Congress

Yvette Herrell
Member of Congress

Michael Guest
Member of Congress

Dusty Johnson
Member of Congress

Beth Van Duyne
Member of Congress

Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D.
Member of Congress

James Comer
Member of Congress

Gregory F. Murphy, M.D.
Member of Congress

Chip Roy
Member of Congress

Ben Cline
Member of Congress

Anthony Gonzalez
Member of Congress

Bill Huizenga
Member of Congress

Lance Gooden
Member of Congress

Brian Fitzpatrick
Member of Congress

Troy Balderson
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Van Taylor
Member of Congress

Carol D. Miller
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Guy Reschenthaler
Member of Congress

Michael Cloud
Member of Congress

Larry Bucshon, M.D.
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French Hill
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Bill Posey
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John Rose
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Kelly Armstrong
Member of Congress

Jackie Walorski
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Vicky Hartzler
Member of Congress

Elise Stefanik
Member of Congress

Adam Kinzinger
Member of Congress

Mike Gallagher
Member of Congress

Jim Hagedorn
Member of Congress

Diana Harshbarger
Member of Congress

Chuck Fleischmann
Member of Congress

Mary Miller
Member of Congress

Blake D. Moore
Member of Congress

Kat Cammack
Member of Congress

Mike Rogers
Member of Congress

Darin LaHood
Member of Congress

Devin Nunes
Member of Congress

Scott Fitzgerald
Member of Congress

Trey Hollingsworth
Member of Congress

Mike Bost
Member of Congress

Burgess Owens
Member of Congress

Jerry L. Carl
Member of Congress

Nicole Malliotakis
Member of Congress

Donald J. Bacon
Member of Congress

Ken Buck
Member of Congress

Andy Harris
Member of Congress

Louie Gohmert
Member of Congress

John Moolenaar
Member of Congress

David G. Valadao
Member of Congress

Jack Bergman
Member of Congress

Ken Calvert
Member of Congress

Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Member of Congress

Tim Walberg
Member of Congress

Peter Meijer
Member of Congress

Jody Hice
Member of Congress

Richard Hudson
Member of Congress

Glenn Grothman
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Brett Guthrie
Member of Congress

Tim Burchett
Member of Congress

Fred Keller
Member of Congress

Glenn “GT” Thompson
Member of Congress

Pete Stauber
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Mike Johnson
Member of Congress

Scott Perry
Member of Congress

William Timmons
Member of Congress

John Carter
Member of Congress

August Pfluger
Member of Congress

Fred Upton
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Jodey C. Arrington
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Vern Buchanan
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Drew Ferguson
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Jason Smith
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Doug LaMalfa
Member of Congress

Claudia Tenney
Member of Congress

Mike Kelly
Member of Congress

Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon
Member of Congress

Bryan Steil
Member of Congress

Trent Kelly
Member of Congress

Ron Estes
Member of Congress

Randy Feenstra
Member of Congress

Mo Brooks
Member of Congress

Liz Cheney
Member of Congress

Bruce Westerman
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Byron Donalds
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Tom Reed
Member of Congress

Jim Banks
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Rodney Davis
Member of Congress

Doug Lamborn
Member of Congress

Michelle Fischbach
Member of Congress

Debbie Lesko
Member of Congress

Tom Rice
Member of Congress

Barry Moore
Member of Congress

Andrew S. Clyde
Member of Congress

Young Kim
Member of Congress

Markwayne Mullin
Member of Congress

Mario Diaz-Balart
Member of Congress

John Katko
Member of Congress

Kevin Hern
Member of Congress

Gus M. Bilirakis
Member of Congress

Scott Franklin
Member of Congress

Dan Meuser
Member of Congress

Julia Letlow
Member of Congress

Matthew Rosendale, Sr.
Member of Congress

Jim Jorden
Member of Congress

Steve Womack
Member of Congress

Dan Bishop
Member of Congress

Andrew R. Garbarino
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Robert E. Latta
Member of Congress

Lisa McClain
Member of Congress

Andy Biggs
Member of Congress

Jeff Fortenberrgy
Member of Congress

Rob Wittman
Member of Congress

Michael C. Burgess, M.D.
Member of Congress