RE: Alert: IRS Plans to Allow Tax Preparers to Sell Data

[Blanchard_Michael () emc com]

 yah, that makes sense.....   I'm sure the same goes for those that use turbo-Tax, Tax-Cut, or any other do it yourself 
Tax software too....

  I think we should just post all our SSN's, CC#'s, addresses, birthdates, mother's maiden names, blood type, hair 
color, passwords, passports, etc etc etc up on a central website somewhere for anyone that is curious to gather the 
information.  Why wait for it to happen, itty bitty bit by bit.... Lets just get it done and over with in one 
fel-swoop....

 Sheesh!


Michael P. Blanchard 
Antivirus / Security Engineer, CISSP, GCIH, MCSE, MCP+I 
Office of Information Security & Risk Management 
EMC ² Corporation 
4400 Computer Dr. 
Westboro, MA 01580 


-----Original Message-----
From: funsec-bounces () linuxbox org [mailto:funsec-bounces () linuxbox org] On Behalf Of Fergie
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 7:36 PM
To: funsec () linuxbox org
Subject: [funsec] Alert: IRS Plans to Allow Tax Preparers to Sell Data

Unbelievable.

Via The Philadelphia Inquirer.

[snip]

The IRS is quietly moving to loosen the once-inviolable privacy of federal income-tax returns. If it succeeds, 
accountants and other tax-return preparers will be able to sell information from individual returns - or even entire 
returns - to marketers and data brokers.

The change is raising alarm among consumer and privacy-rights advocates. It was included in a set of proposed rules 
that the Treasury Department and the IRS published in the Dec. 8 Federal Register, where the official notice labeled 
them "not a significant regulatory action."

IRS officials portray the changes as housecleaning to update outmoded regulations adopted before it began accepting 
returns electronically. The proposed rules, which would become effective 30 days after a final version is published, 
would require a tax preparer to obtain written consent before selling tax information.

Critics call the changes a dangerous breach in personal and financial privacy. They say the requirement for signed 
consent would prove meaningless for many taxpayers, especially those hurriedly reviewing stacks of documents before a 
filing deadline.

[snip]

More:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/14147002.htm

- ferg


--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg () netzero net or fergdawg () sbcglobal net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/


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