House Ways and Means Committee Head Criticizes Biden Administration over Taxpayer Data Leak
The new head of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Representative Jason Smith (R-Mo.), has criticized the Biden administration over its lack of accountability following the leak of thousands of taxpayer files to an outside group. Smith has sent a letter to Russel George, the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration, expressing his concerns about the “confidential tax information” leak.
The issue came to light in June 2021, when news group ProPublica reported that it had obtained private tax returns for thousands of Americans spanning over 15 years. The leak, which may have had political motives, was used to show that “the very richest pay lower rates than the merely rich.”
From ProPublica:
Thanks to an analysis of its unprecedented trove of IRS data, ProPublica is revealing the 15 people who reported the most U.S. income on their taxes from 2013 to 2018, along with data for the rest of the top 400.
The analysis also shows how much they paid in federal income taxes – and it demonstrates how the American tax system, which theoretically makes the highest earners pay the highest income tax rates, fails to do so for the people at the very top of the income pyramid. The top 400 earners pay noticeably lower tax rates than the merely rich; and, if you include payroll taxes, a married couple making $200,000 a year could end up paying higher tax rates than a person making $200 million a year.
Questions about who was responsible for the leak and who will be held accountable remain unanswered. Smith’s letter came the same week that President Biden’s nominee to lead the tax-collecting agency faced a series of tough questions from the Senate Finance Committee as part of his confirmation process.
In a different hearing, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen promised to look into the leak and keep Congress updated on the matter. However, Smith’s letter pointed out that 19 months after the leak, there has been no information about the cause of the breach or any accountability for it.
Smith’s letter also stated that a detailed status of the investigation was necessary to ensure that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration was conducting a comprehensive review that would be completed in a timely manner. He emphasized that the leak of taxpayer information could not be ignored and that the Ways and Means Committee would work tirelessly to ensure accountability.
The IRS is currently facing other issues, including backlogs and questions over how it will handle $80 billion handed down via the Inflation Reduction Act and millions of destroyed documents. According to Smith, Congress and the American people should not have to wait years to get answers.
