Ways & Means Committee Approves Kelly Bill to Prevent IRS Leaks of Private Citizens' Information

Statement

U.S. Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) -- a member of the House Ways and Means Committee -- issued the following statement after today's Ways and Means committee mark-up hearing at which the committee approved H.R. 1026, the Taxpayer Knowledge of IRS Investigations Act, which Rep. Kelly introduced in the House of Representatives on February 26, 2015. H.R. 1026 would amend the tax code to stop the IRS's misuse of a provision designed to protect taxpayers to instead protect government employees who improperly look at or reveal taxpayer information.

"I strongly applaud the committee for its favorable mark-up of this commonsense bill to stop personal taxpayer information from being leaked by the IRS. When such a breach of trust is committed, the most feared federal agency must not be permitted to hide behind provisions meant to protect taxpayers in the first place. Americans rightly expect and deserve transparency from their government and to be treated fairly. This bill is a serious step toward repairing the broken trust between the American people and their government."

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