WASHINGTON, D.C. — During Congressman Fulcher’s tele-townhall with over 6,500 constituents from Idaho’s First District, there was a clear theme in the questions from the participants: The power and surveillance capabilities of the IRS should not be expanded.
Congressman Fulcher commented on the proposed IRS expansion, “These proposals are a flagrant assault on our freedoms. The IRS is already far too powerful and this proposal is yet another move by the Biden Administration to expand the power and watchdog capabilities of the federal government.”
Congressman Fulcher has been a leader on this issue, since the Biden Administration announced its proposal to expand IRS surveillance over Americans with bank transactions over $600, and to double the size of the IRS by hiring 87,000 additional agents to conduct these new surveillance operations. The agency’s hiring spree would make the IRS larger than any city fully in Idaho’s First District, at a cost of $80 billion according to the Treasury Department.
In October, Congressman Fulcher wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Yellen after the department arbitrarily changed the reporting amount threshold, writing that the proposal would “sow further distrust in our financial system due to the ongoing and valid concerns about the IRS’s ability to protect the privacy and financial data of the American people and potentially enlarge the unbanked population.”
Congressman Fulcher has co-sponsored H.R.5586, the Prohibiting IRS Financial Surveillance Act to stop this intrusive policy and prohibit the implementation of new requirements to report bank account deposits and withdrawals. This IRS overreach will impact over 100 million Americans who have bank accounts and banking apps.
The Congressman also co-sponsored H.R.5206, which prevents the IRS from targeting groups based on their beliefs or any legal 1st Amendment activities. This legislation requires the IRS to issue reports on the tax gap and participate in an audit task force to protect all taxpayers.
The provisions to expand the IRS are contained in President Biden’s “Build Back Better” package that is rumored to be voted on today. Congressman Fulcher is in Washington, D.C. continuing to fight against these overarching policies to expand the power of the federal government.
