AGs blast Biden plan to track $600 transactions in checking accounts

President Biden ripped on new banking bill proposal (Courtesy photo)

CONCORD - New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and 19 other Attorneys General recently sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary Yellen regarding the Biden Administration's proposal to require all banks, credit unions, and financial institutions to report information to the IRS on every bank account that has a balance of at least $600 and exceeds $600 per year in transactions.

In the letter the 19 Attorneys General wrote, "We find this proposal wholly unacceptable and oppose any requirement of its kind. It is at best overly burdensome and at worst it is illegal."

The group urged the Biden administration to rescind the proposal immediately.

Though details of the proposal have not been finalized, news reports indicate this policy will require all banks, credit unions, and financial institutions to report information to the IRS on every bank account that has a balance of at least $600 and exceeds $600 per year in transactions.

"As Treasury Secretary, you have claimed that some Americans are hiding their money in order to avoid paying taxes," the letter states. "We understand that you also believe Americans are gaming the system and, without citing evidence to support this belief, your response is to institute a burdensome, "Big Brother-mandate" requiring financial institutions to report "a few pieces of information about individuals' bank accounts" to the IRS. This proposal stands in direct opposition to privacy that Americans are entitled to and deserve."

The letter further castigates the feds for trying to comb through almost every American's bank account "without cause, or even suspicion."

They added that the proposal seeks to leverage private transaction information by effectively transforming banks into large-scale data processors for the IRS, forcing the banks to provide private information regarding common transactions such as rent payments, paying for groceries, and other transactions that are part of everyday life of Americans who have done nothing wrong, are not under suspicion of having done anything illegal and for which the government has no evidence or reason to believe are guilty of civil or criminal violations.