Bush’s IRS Wants to Make Your Tax Returns Public

[babsbunny]

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/23/bushs-irs-wants-to-make-your-tax-returns-public/

A new article from the Philadelphia Inquirer has blown open the startling plans of the IRS to allow tax preparers for the first time to sell the tax returns of their customers.

The proposal came in a painfully technical tax regulation, which until now had attracted only a dozen public comments since it was announced in December. The proposal calls itself “not a significant regulatory action.” But the proposal is indeed significant, both for tax privacy and more broadly.

Until now, tax preparers could not sell tax returns to outside parties. Period. If they got taxpayer consent, they could use it for marketing, but only within their own corporate family.

[Deja Q]

1. H&R Block has been caught not being able to do its own taxes,

I dunno; it seems weird. But everything is weird and nothing adds up anyway. I'm moving on with life and livING.

[AzDar]

2. Oh. Dear. God.

:nuke:

WTF could POSSIBLY go wrong here? :sarcasm:

[Warpy]

3. Maybe they should just paint targets on us

"Identity thieves, cash in HERE!"

Stupid fucking idea. Stupid must have come up with it himself.

[China_cat]

4. Taking a lesson from SC's dmv, are they?

It even went to court and the agency was given the go ahead to sell driver's license records to anyone with the money to buy them. Records that include ss#, date of birth, etc.

[warren pease]

5. Just make them available to Wikileaks.org and let the leaks begin. n/t

[liberal N proud]

6. I realize that my income is not a significant to people like bu$h

But the fact that someone outside of the IRS will be able to read my tax return is extremely significant.

[RuleOfNah]

11. Will be?

I'm not certain but it may be more accurate to use 'has been'. I recall the IRS outsourcing something (processing, collections) under the current regime. Outsourcing as in sharing confidential information with third parties.

[Donkeykick]

7. Sheesh!

:wow: :wtf:

[TahitiNut]

8. Well, they're just sharing data on the cattle in their pasture. (Branding time.)

:grr:

[Junkdrawer]

9. Article is from 2006. Did this go through?

:shrug:

[Junkdrawer]

13. Looks like they did and are rolling out the new regs this year:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/jackson-hewitt-tax-service-inc/story.aspx?guid=%7B26712CCE-EC8E-47AA-BB29-5A27367A5CB0%7D

[Rex]

10. Well sure, anything to make a buck! That is the Bush way!

Never mind what kind of fallout comes from it...if a buck can be made it is right and just! :sarcasm:

[havocmom]

12. outsourcing and corporate profits by more exploitation of people

They had to make it legal to share YOUR returns with corporations because they were planning to let corporations do the processing when you send in your 1040. THEN the corporations started processing YOUR returns overseas. (google outsourcing + tax returns for a real tummy ache)

Only a matter of time before somebody realized they could sell the info they had access to.

This TSA garbage? I really believe it is all about gathering info on people so they can sell the info to marketing departments of various enterprises. Ever notice a correlation between your interests and what you look at online and the addresses/subject lines that show up in your spam folder?

Oh, many mortgage companies are doing processing overseas too. Yep, all your private financial info is blasted all over the planet.

Feel safer, America?

[AzDar]

14. Kick...

:kick:

[mantis49]

15. Glad I do my own.

n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

16. Sorry but the alarm is bullshit-- this was discussed last year...

and the revised rule actually provides more protection for taxpayers. The article is one of the more hysterical ones from the early days of the rule proposal before people figured out what it was.

Preparers often forward returns to automated services, CPAs, etc. for before submitting to the IRS. These are the "third parties" affected by the rule who, in the past, had no restrictions on what they could do with the information. This rule revision simply brings those parties into the same restrictions on use and dissemination of the information that the original preparers have.

(Next panic attack?)

[dothan29]

17. my god

when will it end!