Bank account monitoring proposal draws opposition

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by Murrel Bland

The Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce is preparing its annual Legislative Agenda — something that traditionally takes a few months. (Its Legislative Committee met Friday, Oct. 8, via Zoom.)

But a proposal that would let the IRS monitor the inflow and outflow of money from bank accounts has caused the chamber to move much more quickly. The issue is the proposal that would allow the IRS the power to monitor individual and business accounts with transactions of $600 or more.

Craig Gaffney, a former Chamber of Commerce chairman of the board and a senior officer with Country Club Bank, urged the chamber to oppose the IRS proposal. The chamber’s Board of Directors would need to approve any such issue.

Gaffney said the proposal would force financial institutions to hire additional employees.

Gaffney cited an editorial published Oct. 4 in The Wall Street Journal. The editorial said the proposal is part of President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending bill. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen says the proposal will help catch tax cheats; yet there is little or no evidence that the plan will work.

There is also concern that the proposal is a very serious invasion of privacy. Critics say the reporting would be a dragnet on regular taxpayers, not a target on the rich, according to an article in marketwatch.com.

Trade associations including the American Bankers Association, the Kansas Bankers Association and the Community Bankers Association of Kansas have opposed the IRS proposal.

Once the chamber has prepared its resolution, it will be forwarded to U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-3rd Dist.)

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.
Opinions expressed here are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the publication.