Tax Agency Violated Privacy Law Approximately 42,695 Times

A federal judge has ruled that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) violated its code by sharing confidential taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS disclosed taxpayer information approximately 42,695 times to ICE, in apparent violation of the Internal Revenue Code. The ruling cites IRS Code 6103, a law that prohibits the disclosure of tax return information without consent.

The judge’s decision is based on a declaration filed earlier this month by Dottie Romo, the chief risk and control officer for the IRS. According to Romo, the IRS provided the Department of Homeland Security with information on 47,000 of the 1.28 million people that ICE had requested. In most cases, the tax agency gave ICE additional address information in violation of privacy rules.

The government is appealing the case, but the judge’s ruling supports the decision on appeal. The case stems from a memorandum of understanding between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to help with “non-tax criminal enforcement”. This agreement allows ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the US illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.

The Center for Taxpayer Rights had sued the government over the disclosure, citing protections instituted after the 1972 Watergate scandal. The organization argued that taxpayer data is uniquely sensitive and “in grave jeopardy” of being shared broadly across the government. Representatives from the IRS and the Department of the Treasury did not respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

Source: Al Jazeera