Rep. Panetta, Steube’s Taxpayer Privacy Bill Unanimously Passes the House

Monterey, CA - U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) and Greg Steube (FL-17) announced that their bipartisan Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act passed the House unanimously. The bill heads to the Senate, where companion legislation is led by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA).

"When gathering information on taxpayers, the IRS is mandated by law to let them know prior to contacting any third parties like banks, employers, or even neighbors. However, those types of notices from the IRS often are vague and fail to give taxpayers a chance to provide any type of defense or details to the IRS. That can leave honest Americans blindsided and put their reputations at risk," said Rep. Panetta. "The Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act would ensure that taxpayers are informed through carefully tailored, detailed notices, with sufficient time to resolve their issues privately. Taxpayers who have followed the law shouldn't fear the IRS soliciting sensitive information behind their backs, and I'm glad, and it's understandable, that my colleagues overwhelmingly passed this bipartisan legislation."

"At its core, this common-sense legislation is a simple due-process idea: before the IRS goes to your bank, your employer, your vendor, or another third party for information about you," said Rep. Steube. "When you can reasonably provide that information yourself, you should be told what they're looking for and given a fair chance to respond."

Current federal law requires the IRS to notify taxpayers before reaching out to third parties such as banks, employers, or customers. In many cases, however, those notices lack meaningful details about what information the agency seeks. The Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act addresses this gap by requiring that the IRS clearly identify the information it intends to request and provide taxpayers with reasonable time to respond before contacting third parties.

The bill also has the support of the National Taxpayers Union.