JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) are among many Republicans blasting the Biden Administration’s efforts to pass a new tax plan that would include among the details a requirement that banks report all inflows and outflows of personal accounts of $600 or more.
Under the proposal, banks would be required to turn over aggregate inflow and outflow numbers annually to the IRS for any account with at least a $600 balance, or any account that had at least $600 worth of transactions during a calendar year.
Barrasso and other conservative Republicans call the measure an unprecedented invasion of privacy.
“The content of this reckless spending bill matters. If passed, this bill will allow an army of IRS agents the power to rifle through your checking account,” Barrasso said. “This is Big Brother government and Joe Biden is Big Brother.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen defended the collection of bank information as a “routine” way for the IRS to catch tax cheats by finding unreported income. Yellen speculated the plan could generate about $460 billion over a decade—funds that could go a long way toward paying for Biden’s $2 trillion sweeping American Families Plan.
Last week, Lummis joined Barrasso, slamming the Treasury Secretary during a committee hearing, where she asked Yellen: “Are you aware of how unnecessary this regulatory burden is? Do you distrust the American people so much that you need to know when they bought a couch? Or a cow?”
