Senator John Kennedy put Biden’s effort to expand powers of the IRS into perspective today. He’s always got such a great way with words that helps cut through the BS.
During a press conference about the IRS expansion and the snooping into bank accounts to try and find tax  cheats, Senator Kennedy warned about the slippery slope:
Senator Kennedy asked the hypothetical question of whether Americans want government snooping in every financial part of everyone’s life. He said if that’s what you want…
“I hear China’s beautiful this time of year.”
Democrats wanted the IRS to snoop on $600 transactions in bank accounts but had to walk it back to the way it is now at $10,000 after huge pushback. Even Janet Yellen tried to spin the move as no big deal (see video below), but it failed.
Banks already hand over information on transactions over $10,000 and any that they deem to be suspicious, to prevent money laundering. They also hand over data on interest that customer accounts accrue.
Americans spoke out on this attempt to snoop:
The backlash over privacy concerns forced the Democrats to scale back the snooping attempt.
Treasury and Senate Democrats had proposed having banks report to the IRS any deposit or withdrawal of more than $600. The scaled-back proposal will be for accounts with $10,000 deposits or withdrawals. Right now, banks are required to submit currency transaction reports to the IRS if someone deposits or withdraws more than $10,000 in cash.
Nebraska State Treasurer John Murante spoke out against the Biden plan to have the IRS snoop on anyone who makes a bank transaction of $600 or more:
“If the Biden administration sues me, we will take it all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Murante released a statement saying, “This could lead to a tremendous invasion of privacy the likes of which our country has never seen. Millions of law-abiding Americans would suddenly have their bank accounts opened to federal investigators for no more reason than buying a refrigerator. This is simply unconscionable. To make matters worse, under this proposal, saving for college could put an American family on the IRS’s radar.”
Biden’s proposal is backed by $79 billion in additional funding, allowing the IRS to snoop into the transactions in a bank account over $600.
Murante said he believes other states will follow Nebraska and refuse to comply with the outrageous proposal.
Just days ago, Senator Cynthia Lummis ripped into Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for her support of the proposal: “Banks do not work for the IRS. This is invasive of privacy. Wyoming’s people literally will find alternatives to traditional banks just to thwart IRS access to their personal information, not because they’re trying to hide anything, but because they are not willing to share everything.” She begins speaking about this in the video below at the one-minute mark:
She’s fantastic!
