Democrats Press For Criminal Charges Against Tax Prep Firms Over Data Sharing (theverge.com) 28
Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal and Representative Katie Porter are demanding the Justice Department prosecute tax preparation companies for allegedly sharing sensitive taxpayer data with Meta and Google through tracking pixels. The lawmakers' call follows a Treasury Inspector General audit confirming their earlier investigation into TaxSlayer, H&R Block, and Tax Act. The audit found multiple companies failed to properly obtain consent before sharing tax return information via advertising tools. Violations could result in one-year prison terms and $1,000 fines per incident, potentially reaching billions in penalties given the scale of affected users.
In a letter shared with The Verge, the lawmakers said: "Accountability for these tax preparation companies -- who disclosed millions of taxpayers' tax return data, meaning they could potentially face billions of dollars in criminal liability -- is essential for protecting the rule of law and the privacy of taxpayers," the letter reads. "We urge you to follow the facts and the conclusions of TIGTA and the IRS and to take appropriate action against any companies or individuals that have violated the law."
In a letter shared with The Verge, the lawmakers said: "Accountability for these tax preparation companies -- who disclosed millions of taxpayers' tax return data, meaning they could potentially face billions of dollars in criminal liability -- is essential for protecting the rule of law and the privacy of taxpayers," the letter reads. "We urge you to follow the facts and the conclusions of TIGTA and the IRS and to take appropriate action against any companies or individuals that have violated the law."
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
Well sure. When you're an 80 year old man whose cognitive decline is on full display every day, the last thing you want to do is release your medical records.
Re: (Score:2)
I see what is being done there...
Re: (Score:1)
"If the boat is sinking, water goes over the battery, the boat is sinking, do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted?" Trump said. "Or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?"
Or child care [thedailybeast.com]:
âoeWell, I would do that, and weâ(TM)re sitting downâ"you know, I was, somebody, we had Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka was so impactful on that issue. Itâ(TM)s a very important issue. But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that Iâ(TM)m talking about, thatâ"because look, child care is childcare, itâ(TM)sâ"couldnâ(TM)t, you know, itâ(TM)s something, you have to have it, in this country you have to have it.
But when you talk about those numbers compared to the kind of numbers that Iâ(TM)m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that theyâ(TM)re not used toâ"but theyâ(TM)ll get used to it very quicklyâ"and itâ(TM)s not gonna stop them from doing business with us, but they'll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that weâ(TM)re talking about, including childcare, that itâ(TM)s going to take care.
Weâ(TM)re gonna haveâ"I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country, because I have to stay with childcare. I want to stay with childcare, but those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I'm talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I justâ"that I just told you about.
Weâ(TM)re gonna be taking in trillions of dollars, and as much as childcare is talked about as being expensive, itâ(TM)s relatively speaking not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers weâ(TM)ll be taking in. Weâ(TM)re gonna make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people, and then weâ(TM)ll worry about the rest of the world.
Letâ(TM)s help other people, but weâ(TM)re going to take care of our country first. This is about America first. Itâ(TM)s about âMake America Great Again.â(TM)
We have to do it because right now weâ(TM)re a failing nation, so weâ(TM)ll take care of it. Thank you. Very good question. Thank you.â
If he's this bad now, one can only imagine how bad his incoherency will be next year.
Re:Since it's Elizabeth Warren (Score:5, Interesting)
The IRS finally got some money in the IRA to develop their own web based tax software. It had a limited roll out last year and was generally well received. Expect a wider roll out in the future.
The tax prep companies fought this tooth and nail for years with bribes to politicians but it was finally passed as part of Biden's IRA.
IRS Funding has been hobbled for years because the Republicans don't want their high earning tax cheats to get audited. The IRA also provided more money for audit and customer service.
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The problem with iRS enforcement is that they'll start harassing not billionaires, but people in the top 25% where the real money is. That includes many posters here, I suspect.
In my case, I don't have a lot of flexibility in my income and such and harassing me is just harassment. Not much money to be drawn from a stone. I doubt i'm much of an outlier. I've been through the rigamarole before and it was a lot of document production and such, with no changes. Just making my life worse with no real change
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From MSN
Werfel noted that the IRS' strategic plan over the next three tax years include a sharp increase in audits, although the agency reiterated it won't boost its enforcement for people who earn less than $400,000 annually — which covers the bulk of U.S. taxpayers.
The IRS plans to triple the audit rates on large corporations with assets of more than $250 million. Audit rates for these companies will rise to 22.6% in tax year 2026 from 8.8% in 2019.
Large partnerships with assets of more than $10 mi
Re: Since it's Elizabeth Warren (Score:2)
"The only way to deal with these tax prep firms is to make the IRS do its job and provide some damn service"
The only way to make that happen is to fully fund the IRS, which is not going to happen if Cheeto Benito is re-selected.
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Or we could have a dramatically simpler tax system such that no one needs outside help and countless hours to figure out their taxes.
But no one in power wants that. They need to trade tax gimmes for political donations.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
It is a big deal in the same way a storm in a tea cup is a big deal.
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They already released his tax returns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] It is a big deal in the same way a storm in a tea cup is a big deal.
Shhhhhh! It's funnier to watch people pretend they know what they're talking about when they're really clueless...
Unclear... (Score:2)
Re: Unclear... (Score:3, Insightful)
Tracking pixels are far more than just a literal pixel at this point, basically JS that can send back whatever it wants including form data. How they are used in this case I don't know.
Re:Unclear... (Score:5, Insightful)
TFA is all about tracking pixels, but at the same time implies that actual, financial information was shared. These two things are not the same.
Specific financial info no, but even if the pixel sends back just the URL that can tell you what sections of the website were being used, which can communicate financial information.
This specific infraction is probably pretty low risk, though if an ML model ingests it you could start making inferences. For instance, you start looking at bankruptcy sections of the tax website and you start seeing ads for bankruptcy attorneys.
And even if this breach is harmless there's benefit in sending a message that the companies need to take privacy more seriously.
Tax Information is Confidential (Score:3)
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"The audit found multiple companies failed to properly obtain consent before sharing tax return information via advertising tools. "
Doesn't seem consensual, not even disclosed.
Re: Who does the prison time? (Score:2)
It should be everyone involved in the decision and its implementation, from whatever execs were involved down to the engineer or admin who enabled the tracking.
It is also illegal to receive FTI...
I'm fiscally conservative and I approve this 100% (Score:2)
Just ban tracking generically (Score:2)
Advertising doesn't actually need tracking. Forget all the convoluted hand ringing about what is and isn't egregious and just do it the same for all.
So, will they ... (Score:2)
I guess if you steal something (or get someone else to steal it for you), you're in the clear.