Rich Neal: “As technology continues to advance and more of us surf the net, privacy becomes more difficult to protect. Information…”

“As technology continues to advance and more of us surf the net, privacy becomes more difficult to protect. Information that individuals report on their tax returns should be kept confidential. Individuals have every right to expect that this information will remain confidential and that liberty should not be violated. Senator Glenn has worked diligently to correct browsing at the Internal Revenue Service. Browsing is unauthorized opportunities to peek at tax returns. In 1993, the IRS commissioner established a zero tolerance for such conduct. The IRS is working toward fair and private tax administration, and this is but another example. Commissioner Richardson has requested this legislation today, and we hope that it will eliminate browsing. I have been a cosponsor of this legislation, and I certainly believe that the IRS is correct in attempting to implement a zero tolerance policy. The purpose of this legislation is to clarify in the Tax Code criminal sanctions for the unauthorized inspection of tax information.”