Washington, D.C. (Oct. 26, 2021) — The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today told Congress that proposed tweaks to Washington’s widely opposed IRS reporting proposal are unworkable and cannot salvage the misguided plan.
Addressing a House Ways and Means Committee roundtable discussion on the proposal, ICBA Chairman Robert Fisher said instead of attempting to fix the plan—which would require financial institutions to report customer account information to the IRS—policymakers should reject it entirely.
“There are many reasons to object to IRS reporting: It would deprive Americans of their fundamental privacy and due process rights. It would jeopardize trust in financial institutions and drive more Americans out of the banking system,” said Fisher, the president and CEO of Tioga State Bank in Spencer, N.Y. “Efforts to fix a fundamentally flawed proposal only compound its complexity and unworkability. This proposal must be rejected outright.”
Policymakers have proposed tweaks to the IRS reporting proposal to quell widespread opposition to the plan, which an ICBA poll conducted by Morning Consult found 67% of voters oppose. However, ICBA has repeatedly told lawmakers that the updates—such as raising the reporting threshold or attempting to exempt certain account flows—would benefit hardly any taxpayers, make the policy more difficult to implement, and do nothing to address the proposal’s privacy, due process, and data security concerns.
With Congress working to advance the proposal through a budget reconciliation package that requires only a simple majority to pass, consumers have sent hundreds of thousands of messages to their members Congress in opposition via banklocally.org/privacy while more than 100 organizations representing small businesses have expressed their strong opposition.
More information is available at banklocally.org/privacy.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® creates and promotes an environment where community banks flourish. ICBA is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and its membership through effective advocacy, best-in-class education, and high-quality products and services.
With nearly 50,000 locations nationwide, community banks constitute 99 percent of all banks, employ more than 700,000 Americans and are the only physical banking presence in one in three U.S. counties. Holding more than $5.8 trillion in assets, over $4.8 trillion in deposits, and more than $3.5 trillion in loans to consumers, small businesses and the agricultural community, community banks channel local deposits into the Main Streets and neighborhoods they serve, spurring job creation, fostering innovation and fueling their customers’ dreams in communities throughout America. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at www.icba.org.
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