From bank accounts to facial recognition, the IRS is digging into our personal data
By Alex Hendrie, opinion contributor — 02/07/22 12:01 PM EST The IRS has proposed a new face-scanning verification system requiring some taxpayers to submit biometric data from their phone or computer in order to access online accounts.
This would be a clear violation of privacy and should be alarming given the IRS has proven it cannot keep taxpayer data safe. Just last year, ProPublica announced it had received the private tax returns of thousands of taxpayers covering 15 years.
This proposal has rightly drawn criticism from politicians on both sides of the aisle and the agency has even said it would consider other options.
However, this plan is part of a broader pattern by the left to increase the ability of the IRS to intrude into the lives of everyday Americans. While Democrats have said they want the wealthy and large corporations to pay “their fair share,” the proposals being pushed by President Biden and congressional Democrats would actually harm middle-class Americans and small businesses.
If Democrats have their way, the IRS will double in size with $80 billion in new funding and 87,000 new agents. The agency would receive $45 billion for enforcement activity which will fund 1.2 million more annual IRS audits. About half of which will hit households making less than $75,000. By comparison, the IRS will receive less than $2 billion for taxpayer services.
This will give the agency unprecedented reach into the lives of families and businesses to harass and audit taxpayers.
more
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/593070-from-bank-accounts-to-facial-recognition-the-irs-is-digging-into-our-personal
