Posted on 10/19/2021 1:04:06 PM PDT by Red Badger
Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has relented in response to backlash over a controversial proposal by Democrats that would have allowed the IRS to gain information from any American bank account with more than $600 of activity in a year.
The measure initially came to light as a part of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. Trying to head off concerns from moderates, Democratic leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers have desperately marketed the bill as being completely paid for with no substantial effect on the deficit or national debt.
One proposal to achieve that end was the IRS measure. Despite immediate backlash, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Yellen adamantly defended the planned IRS overhaul.
Yellen, the former Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve who took control of the Treasury in January, said the measure is designed to target wealthy Americans who hide income from the IRS. Because of the measure, Yellen said the IRS will be able to collect more taxes from the wealthy and close the “tax gap.”
“We have a tax gap that over the next decade is estimated at $7 trillion, namely a shortfall in the amount that IRS is collecting due to a failure of individuals to report the income that they have earned,” Yellen said.
Now, Yellen has somewhat changed course, supporting a raise in the reporting threshold from $600 to $10,000.
While still supporting the broad goal of closing the so-called “tax gap,” she relented on key aspects of the program.
“Under the current system, American workers pay virtually all their tax bills while many top earners avoid paying billions in the taxes they owe by exploiting the system,” she said. “At the core of the problem is a discrepancy in the ways types of income are reported to the IRS: opaque income sources frequently avoid scrutiny while wages and federal benefits are typically subject to nearly full compliance.”
“This two-tiered tax system is unfair and deprives the country of resources to fund core priorities.”
However, responding to concerns that the program would target middle class and low-income Americans, Yellen announced several changes to the original measure.
Foremost, the reporting threshold will be raised to $10,000, addressing a key concern from critics who considered $600 to be too low to merit IRS snooping.
Yellen also announced an “exemption” from the measure “for wage earners like teachers and firefighters.” It is not yet clear whether this exemption will extend to other middle class wage earners in the private sector.
Yellen applauded these new proposals for “protecting American workers.”
“Today’s new proposal reflects the Administration’s strong belief that we should zero in on those at the top of the income scale who don’t pay the taxes they owe,” Yellen said.
She concluded, “We will e to work with leaders in Congress to enact this important measure to level the playing field for workers and small businesses, and raise revenue to build our economy back better.”
Republicans have criticized the proposal since it became public.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, “This surveillance program crosses a line,” calling the program “un-American.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that Democrats “want to finance their spending spree by effectively treating every ordinary American as if they were under IRS audit.”
“I must have forgotten when the president campaigned on giving everybody their own audit,” McConnell quipped.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) decried the plan in a statement as “[violating] the liberty of every freedom-loving American who values their financial privacy.”
If they get their real goal of a Central Bank Digital Currency, AKA the Digital Dollar or CBDC, they will replace private banks with a Central Bank. Then they will see every transaction regardless of amount, and eventually full access and control of those funds.
$10K annually will still touch nearly everyone, including the lower class.
so what is it that they really wanted to push through unnoticed??
“They can’t transfer more than $600 if there’s not more than $600...anywhere!”
Yes and no.
They are currently reporting to FinCen.
They will now also be reporting to IRS.
This is good news for smaller financial industry firms that will now just have to report the same info to 2 entities rather than reinvent their entire reporting regime.
An EXEMPTION FOR TEACHERS??????
This woman is nuts.
I do not want them snooping into my personal accounts, I don’t care how much they try doing that.
Bad enough ten thousand dollar transactions require paperwork for the Bank.
ENOUGH ALREDY...ENOUGH.
Yellen looks like grandpa on the Munsters
Read the fine print and then do a little critical reasoning. They are stopping NOTHING!
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized
I think they claim that depositing “wages” (however they define the word) does not count toward the $10K. Of course this bill is likely to change even more in the future.
The goal was ALWAYS to require reporting on accounts with $10,000 or more (I'll explain why later)
They knew that this would be totally unacceptable and an outrage if they proposed that outright so they proposed something even MORE outrageous so they could appear to compromise.
A very common bargaining tactic that has been mastered by the Demonrats. And one that the GOP consistently gets themselves trapped with.
Why $10,000?
Most of you in America may not know this but American citizens residing abroad still have to file tax returns and pay taxes if they live abroad, even if ZERO of their income is from a US source (for now, at least, they do get a tax credit for foreign income taxes and they can exclude a part of their EARNED (i.e., wages) income...but not UNEARNED (e.g., investment) income). The US is literally the only country in the world (with the exception of Eritrea in the Horn of Africa) that does this.
AND...starting in 2003 as part of the Patriot Act (may you rot in _______ George W Bush)...banks AROUND THE WORLD are required to report on balances of accounts over $10,000 held by US citizens. And US citizens are required to self-report the same info well, because, they can't trust those dirty foreign banks. It's called the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts).
The thought is that all of us traitorous expats are going to hide our massive funds that we have earned from smuggling, terrorism, or other nefarious means in a bank account in our own names. Please, somebody, give me a break.
The first practical result is that there are a lot of banks in other countries that won't even talk to Americans, even though they're happy to open accounts for Brits, Canadians, Germans, Aussies, Kenyans, Mexicans, or any other nationality.
The second practical result is that there are an increasing number of well-to-do people (people with actual wealth, unlike retirees such as myself who decide to become beach bums in their old age) who renounce their citizenship because they are sick of being despised for their success and having their money stolen by their government.
The original goal was $10,000 so that they could fully monitor domestic accounts in the same way that they monitor foreign accounts held by Americans. And Republicans will be stupid enough to step right in the trap, thinking they actually got a W.
If the Republicans really wanted to fight this, they'd say "get rid of FBAR reporting." But they won't. Because they are either too stupid to realize how they're being played or they are in on it. You choose.
Exactly.
Yellen is a closet MARXIST. Period! And dumb as a pile of steaming dog crap!
And that is the truth!!
IRS is already snooping.
Every adult in this country who doesn’t live in a box spends more than $10,000 per year, so this change makes no difference. $10,000 per year in expenditures is only $833 per month. This is just another smoke and mirrors move by the evil and devious leftists in charge.
Read later.
This is still going to hit nearly everyone.
Soc Sec of $1200 a month ==$14,400 annually.
Lots of the 43 million Soc Sec recipients get at least $1000 a month.
Doesn’t drop more than .5% out of the original proposal.
If they need to raise cash, why not spend all that money and effort on cheaters gaming the system. Maybe stake out nail salons. All them welfare queens are able to afford those gawdy ass nails and spider eyelashes that EBT doesn’t cover.
[You used your debit cart at Taco Bell? ]
Well, I did get a $5 box the other day...
Yes, in the mid-1980’s, we produced a tape for the IRS every month at our bank’s data center. I always figured it was the $10,000 transaction thing back then.
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