Neal Dunn: “I want to commend Chairman Archer for his leadership in bringing this timely issue of taxpayer privacy to the floor of…”

“I want to commend Chairman Archer for his leadership in bringing this timely issue of taxpayer privacy to the floor of the House today. Throughout my tenure in the Congress I have heard from thousands of constituents who have described to me a myriad of problems they see within our system of taxation. Granted, our Nation suffers under an unfair and incomprehensible Tax Code that takes too much of what we earn. Worse, some rogue members of the IRS, the organization responsible for the enforcement of the Tax Code, have a record of seeking to intimidate and to frighten honest hard working taxpayers. They damage the reputation of a huge majority of the honest people working at the agency. We must not tolerate a Tax Code that punishes families just as we should not tolerate an IRS agent who is eager to bully, harass, or snoop on a taxpayer. An important element of the IRS Accountability Act that I have offered and of the bill on the floor today is the protection of taxpayer privacy. It is well-documented that certain agents have been able to snoop through confidential taxpayer information with no regard for individual rights of the honest and the law-abiding taxpayers. Furthermore, recent reports shed additional light on the need for this legislation and the adoption of my amendment. According to the GAO, for fiscal year 1994 and 1995, over 1,500 instances occurred where IRS employees were accused of unlawful browsing.”