By: Middleton H.C.R. No. 15
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Biden administration's tax increase proposal
for fiscal year 2022 includes a number of provisions that would
place undue burdens on banks, small businesses, and law-abiding
American citizens; and
WHEREAS, The proposal seeks to increase tax enforcement
measures by requiring peer-to-peer payment transaction apps as well
as banks and other financial institutions to annually report
aggregated data on all account inflows and outflows of $600 or more
to the Internal Revenue Service; the reports would also disclose
whether transactions involved physical cash, foreign accounts, or
transfers between accounts with the same owner; there are serious
issues regarding privacy, compliance costs, and negative impacts on
low-income communities; and
WHEREAS, The proposal's low $600 threshold for reporting
would ensnare most active bank accounts, including those owned by
individuals and small businesses; as a result, the financial data
of the majority of bank accounts would be sent to the IRS, which
experiences more than one billion cyberattacks each year; in
addition, a June 2021 ProPublica article revealed a massive leak of
tax return data from the IRS, demonstrating that the agency is
unable or unwilling to protect taxpayer information; considering
its many vulnerabilities in cybersecurity, the IRS should not be
trusted with more private information; and
WHEREAS, By holding financial institutions responsible for
data collection and reporting, the proposal would force banks to
increase spending on additional staffing, technology, and other
resources; these costs could then be passed on to the depositors,
thereby burdening tax-compliant citizens and businesses; and
WHEREAS, People from both political parties have expressed
concern about the Biden administration's tax increase proposal; a
group of 141 House Republicans explained their position in a letter
to their Democratic colleagues, and House Democrats omitted the
bank reporting requirements in their September 2021 list of tax
policy changes due to the potential harm it may cause to low-income
communities; and
WHEREAS, The Biden administration's tax increase proposal
fails to consider cybersecurity risks and unjust burdens on lawful
individuals, and the United States Congress should oppose this
unprecedented intrusion into the privacy of Americans; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas,
3rd Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the
United States to oppose the burdensome reporting requirements
included in the Biden administration's tax increase proposals for
fiscal year 2022; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.