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The Biden administration has proposed a sweeping new information reporting requirement on annual gross inflows and outflows of financial accounts. If enacted, this proposal would require financial institutions to report to the IRS account information on nearly every American who has a bank account.

In response, American Farm Bureau has joined over 100 other organizations in a letter to leaders of Congress to share their concerns about this proposal.

“Lawmakers must fully understand the breadth of taxpayers who would be receiving a new form from their financial institution – almost every American who has a bank or credit union account and has gross inflow and outflow of at least $600,” the letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reads. “While recent proposals suggest that increasing the threshold to $10,000 is less objectionable, this is a flawed assumption and will not significantly reduce the scale of this new IRS program.”

Those in favor of the suggested changes claim that this proposal targets wealthy Americans who do not pay what they owe in taxes. The letter also addresses those charges.

“This proposal would create serious financial privacy concerns, increase tax preparation costs for individuals and small businesses, and create significant operational challenges for financial institutions. We believe that this program is costly for all parties, not fit for purpose, and loaded with the potential for unintended and serious negative consequences. As associations representing a broad cross-section of financial and business interests, we urge you to oppose any efforts to institute this new reporting regime.”

Read the full letter.