A broad coalition of 99 trade groups representing various industries—including the American Bankers Association—today wrote to President Biden urging him to withdraw a controversial proposal that would require financial institutions to report information to the Internal Revenue Service on gross inflows and outflows for accounts above a specified de minimis threshold. The idea was floated by the administration as a way to shrink the so-called “tax gap.”
The groups emphasized that raising the de minimis threshold from the originally proposed $600 to $10,000 and excluding wages and government benefits —something congressional Democrats have supported in recent days—amount to only “cosmetic changes” and “fail to address the reality that any program based on gross annual inflows and outflows will impact Americans from all income levels.”
The groups said that they support the goal of ensuring all taxpayers meet their tax obligations, but added that the privacy concerns about the proposal “should not be taken lightly.” They also emphasized that the proposal has not been significantly studied or examined, and warned that it would be a substantial expansion of the IRS’ authority that “once established, is sure to expand rather than roll back.”
ABA has aggressively opposed the proposal and continues to call on bankers and their customers to redouble their advocacy efforts against it by calling their lawmakers. Resources are available at SecureAmericanOpportunity.com for bankers and their customers to help them craft their messages to lawmakers. Call Congress now.
