WASHINGTON – The House Ways and Means Committee, under a new Republican majority, has established an online form to assist Internal Revenue Service (IRS) personnel who wish to submit information confidentially to the Committee regarding any inappropriate behavior or mishandling of taxpayer information at the agency, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) announced today. As part of today’s announcement, Chairman Smith also sent a letter to Acting IRS Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell and all IRS employees informing them of the creation of this direct line of communication between agency personnel and the Committee.
“The IRS has a disturbing track record of violating the trust of the American taxpayer – whether it’s leaking confidential taxpayer information, targeting Americans for their political beliefs, or just failing to perform its most basic customer service responsibilities,” said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Smith. “Unfortunately, it has become clear that relying on the IRS to be forthcoming about its failures or outright abuses of taxpayer confidence is insufficient to ensure much needed, aggressive oversight of the agency. The American people are demanding accountability, and they deserve answers. By providing IRS personnel with a safe, secure, and confidential way to provide information that might be vital to protecting taxpayers, the Ways and Means Committee is delivering on our commitment to hold government accountable.”
Key Facts:
- IRS agency personnel can now go to house.gov/IRSwhistleblowerto submit information to the Ways and Means Committee regarding any malpractice or malfeasance they believe has occurred and would be of interest to Congressional oversight efforts.
- All online submissions can be provided anonymously.
- Any confidential taxpayer information will be protected pursuant to Section 6103 of the Tax Code governing whistleblower disclosures of such information to the Committee under particular circumstances.
- The IRS has repeatedly exposed confidential taxpayer information:
- Including twice publishing the confidential information of over 100,000 taxpayers with individual retirement accounts that millions of Americans count on for their retirement and on which Democrats want to impose additional contribution limits.
Including the confidential information of thousands of Americans at the same time the Biden Administration was trying to whip public support for raising taxes on such individuals.