Advocacy Alert: Write Your Lawmakers and Help Fight New IRS Reporting Provisions

Take Action

Your League and the Credit Union National Association issued an action alert last week calling on credit union leaders to oppose new Internal Revenue Service reporting provisions that would require financial institutions to report additional detailed account holder information.

• Learn more
• Take Action

Over the next two weeks, the House Ways and Means Committee is likely to consider the tax portion of the Majority’s proposed $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” reconciliation bill. We have heard that a likely “payfor” for this legislation will be a proposal by the Treasury Department to require financial institutions to report additional account holder information in an enhanced annual IRS Form 1099-INT.

What the administration and Congressional Democrats are proposing here is to require credit unions and banks to report the inflows and outflows of funds to accounts that hold more than $600. Whereas the Form 1099-INT form reports taxable activity, this new reporting requirement would not reflect any taxable activity.

Instead, what the administration hopes the IRS would be able to do is to use this enormous data grab to identify unreported taxable income. But it’s not clear how the IRS will use this data to accomplish its goal. Further, the federal government’s history of keeping this type of data secure is dubious at best.

What is certain is that if it is enacted, this proposal will increase the already high compliance burden on all financial institutions. It will also fundamentally change the nature of the information depository institutions are required to report on their account holders, creating new concerns regarding data security and privacy.

CUNA has produced an issue guide on this proposal, with background information, talking points and its legislative outlook. This will prove helpful to credit unions preparing to engage with lawmakers on this issue.

Educate & Activate Your Members, Staff

CUNA has also distributed a Member Activation Program alert and toolkit to help you get your members and staff involved in the campaign, including graphics for social media campaigns. Learn more here.

Resource: IRS Reporting Requirements: Talking Points and Background
Related: League Writes Lawmakers in Opposition to Expanded 1099s
Related: Advocacy Alert - Write Your Lawmakers and Help Fight New IRS Reporting Provisions
Related: Take Action - Tell Congress to Oppose New IRS Reporting Provisions
Related: The top 1 percent are evading $163 billion a year in taxes, the Treasury finds (The Administration is using studies like this to make its case for the IRS reporting provision. This study is being widely reported in major media outlets.)