Hayworth to IRS: Don't Share Tax Information with 3rd Parties

WASHINGTON, D.C. In a letter to Commissioner Mark Everson, Congressman J.D. Hayworth today told the IRS that he strongly opposes a proposed rule change that would allow tax preparations services to share information with third parties as long as taxpayers sign a consent form. Hayworth, who is in the midst of a series of town hall meetings, said news of the proposed change has angered his constituents. "At a time when the incidence of identity theft is on the rise, it makes no sense to expand the pool of those allowed access to sensitive tax information," said Hayworth. "Even with the consent requirement, there are just too many times when taxpayers nearing a deadline will sign anything their tax preparers put in front of them. We should err on the side of less access to this information." The IRS is in the process of updating rules regarding the dissemination of tax information in light of the advent of electronic filings. It says the new regulations are part of an effort strengthening the rights of taxpayers to control their information. "While the IRS may consider this a Ëœhousecleaning' measure, I can assure you my constituents view it as a lot more than that," said Hayworth. "They want their privacy maintained and I'm prepared to introduce legislation to stop this proposed regulation from taking effect." Text of Hayworth letter to IRS: Dear Commissioner Everson: I am writing to express my strong opposition to a proposed IRS rule that would allow tax preparation companies to share taxpayer information with third parties. It is my understanding that current IRS rules only allow tax preparation companies to share this extremely sensitive information with their affiliates for the purpose of marketing business services that are available to the broader public. The new rules would remove the limitations that taxpayer information can only be shared with affiliates, and that the information can only be used to market widely available business services. While the written consent that is required under the current rules would be maintained, I am nonetheless concerned that many taxpayers will not fully understand that they are potentially allowing their personal information to be widely disseminated. I am also concerned about the potential for identity theft if this kind of sensitive information is shared with third parties that may not be as familiar with the taxpayer information protections required by federal law. Our voluntary tax system will not function if we cannot provide assurances to taxpayers that the very personal information they share with tax preparers and the IRS is protected. I hope the IRS will take these concerns into consideration as it works to update these important rules. Best regards, /s/ J.D. Hayworth Member of Congress