News release from Sen. Lamar Alexander’s office:
TRENTON, Tenn., Sept. 3 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) today announced that they will introduce legislation when Congress comes back into session requiring the federal government to notify taxpayers whenever the Internal Revenue Service has accessed their tax returns or other information.
Alexander said: “The IRS violated the First Amendment rights of the American people when it created what amounted to an enemies list of conservatives, including Tennessee Tea Party groups, to keep people quiet. This legislation will give taxpayers the protection they need to make sure the IRS isn’t using their information in a way that violates their First Amendment rights to speak up and speak out, for political reasons or otherwise.”
Fincher said: “Across the country, Americans are losing faith in the government as they’re watching the IRS play politics. This blatant violation of the First Amendment is unacceptable and I’m committed to making sure the IRS is never again used as a political weapon against any group, conservative or liberal.”
The “IRS Abuse Protection Act,” cosponsored by Alexander in the U.S. Senate and Fincher in the U.S. House of Representatives, would require that the secretary of the U.S. Treasury notify taxpayers, in writing, each time the IRS accesses their tax accounts, tax returns or other tax return information.
The notice must include who accessed the information, the purpose of doing so and how the information was accessed. Taxpayers would also receive a copy of the information accessed, and any report issued on how it was used.
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