IRS Surveillance of Americans' Bank Accounts is "More Fodder for Abuse'

Statement

Representative Tom Rice (R-S.C.) yesterday joined the Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee to discuss the devastating consequences of President Biden's proposed IRS surveillance of Americans' bank accounts.

HIGHLIGHTS:

"The IRS is the only entity I know of who can come and seize your assets without a hearing. All they want here is more information. They can get that information if they suspect a problem by doing an audit…They want blanket information on every single taxpayer."

"It's more fodder for abuse. I don't believe we should give one more inch of power to the unelected bureaucrats at the IRS."

"Someone here said the taxpayers are very afraid of the IRS…they work on fear, they have to have a certain level of fear to encourage people to file their tax returns -- but, it has gotten completely out of hand. The fear is justified."

"I was a tax lawyer and a CPA. I represented various clients through the years against the IRS. I remember…the bureaucracy of the IRS went astray as bureaucracies often do, and they persecuted taxpayers in the courts through the criminal system or through simply seizing their assets."

Congressman Tom Rice is co-sponsoring H.R. 5586 The Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act which would prohibit the implementation of new requirements to report bank account deposits and withdrawals. This legislation seeks to prevent the IRS from conducting blanket surveillance on Americans' bank transactions.

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