Summary
A U.S. federal judge ruled that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) violated privacy laws by wrongly sharing taxpayer information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) around 42,695 times. This unauthorized sharing violated a strict confidentiality law that protects taxpayer data from being disclosed without permission. The case stems from a data-sharing agreement between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to support non-tax criminal enforcement, which critics say risks taxpayer privacy.
Key Facts
- A federal judge found the IRS broke privacy laws by sharing taxpayer data with ICE approximately 42,695 times.
- The violation involved sharing taxpayer addresses without meeting legal requirements.
- IRS Code 6103 largely prohibits sharing tax return information without consent.
- A declaration from IRS official Dottie Romo revealed about 47,000 people's information was shared.
- The federal judge's ruling is being appealed by the government.
- The data-sharing agreement with ICE is part of broader government data consolidation efforts.
- Critics argue this agreement undermines taxpayer privacy protections established after the Watergate scandal.
- The Center for Taxpayer Rights filed a lawsuit against the government over these privacy violations.
