Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Rep. Stephen
\nFincher, R-Tenn., on September 3 announced their intention to introduce
\nlegislation following Congress\u2019s return to session on September 9 requiring the
\nfederal government to notify taxpayers whenever the IRS has accessed their tax
\nreturns or other information. “The IRS violated the First
\nAmendment rights of the American people when it created what amounted to an
\nenemies list of conservatives, including Tennessee Tea Party groups, to keep
\npeople quiet,” stated Alexander when announcing the measure.<\/p>\n
The IRS Abuse Protection Bill would require the
\nTreasury Secretary to notify taxpayers, in writing, each time the IRS accesses
\ntheir tax accounts, tax returns or other tax return information. The notice must
\ninclude who accessed the information, the purpose of doing so and how the
\ninformation was accessed. Taxpayers would also receive a copy of the information
\naccessed and any report issued on how it was used. “This
\nlegislation will give taxpayers the protection they need to make sure the IRS
\nisn\u2019t using their information in a way that violates their First Amendment
\nrights to speak up and speak out, for political reasons or otherwise,”
\nsaid Alexander.<\/p>\n
Fincher also said the IRS actions have been “a blatant violation of the First Amendment” and he is “committed to making sure the IRS is never again used as a political
\nweapon against any group, conservative or liberal.” Alexander and 45 U.S.
\nsenators previously called on the Obama administration to comply with all
\nrequests by Congress as it examines the IRS\u2019s admitted targeting of conservative
\ngroups and others during the 2012 election. According to Alexander, the Obama
\nadministration\u2019s behavior resembled the Nixon administration\u2019s creation of an
\nenemies list, which became public as part of the Watergate scandal. He cited
\nadministration statements treating businesses, the media and members of Congress
\nlike enemies, saying Obama should “push the street brawling
\nout of the White House.”<\/p>\n
Fincher had previously introduced the IRS
\nEmployee Responsibility Bill of 2013, which would require IRS employees to be
\nsolely responsibility for their actions, as are civilian employees when taken to
\ncivil court. Under the bill, IRS employees are responsible for their own legal
\nfees and any judgment awards against them as opposed to current law where the
\nfederal government covers all legal fees and expenses.<\/p>\n
By Jeff Carlson, CCH News Staff<\/p>\n
Sep. 5, 2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn., on September 3 announced their intention to introduce legislation following Congress\u2019s return to session on September 9 requiring the federal government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88890,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tax-tips"],"yoast_head":"\n