Or put another way, how much does your tax preparer think you’re worth?
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently broke a story that the IRS has been keeping quiet… It seems that in an action labeled “not a significant regulatory action,” a change in privacy laws was included in proposed rules published in December. The change would allow tax preparers to sell information from tax returns, and quite possibly the entire returns, to third parties.
The IRS defends the action, noting that tax preparer would require written consent before selling tax information. Right. Since in the normal course of business, folks read everything put in front of them.
Trust me. I have prepared a lot of tax returns. I don’t do personal returns anymore except at the local senior center, where I do them several times per tax season at an IRS-sponsored free clinic as part of the VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) program. And paid or free, the reaction is the same. The public feels that taxes are complicated and generally don’t want to be bothered. They want to sign where you tell them and be done with the whole thing. And more or less, most folks would probably sign anything you put in front of them.
The IRS, however, feels that signing written consents should be sufficient to protect your privacy. Absolutely not. The current regulations prohibit tax professionals from selling or releasing your private information to third parties. That’s sufficient.
The IRS says that they have only received about a dozen responses to the proposal. Perhaps that’s because nobody knew about it. As a tax professional, I can certainly say that I was unaware of the proposed changes until I read about them in the Inky – and I subscribe to several tax blogs and tax news services.
The formal comment period has ended. However, late comments may still be reviewed if they are received timely. If you’ve got something to say, don’t delay. Send your letters to:
CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-137243-02)
Room 5203
Internal Revenue Service, Box 7604
Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044
