Got an email from my credit union yesterday.  An interesting read and I will quote a portion below:

“As Congress considers new infrastructure spending, lawmakers are considering unconventional sources of revenue to fund their plans. One proposal under consideration would require financial institutions like us to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) many activities on accounts with balances over $600.

What this means for you:

  • If passed we will be required to report gross inflows and outflows of funds into your account with a breakdown for physical cash, transactions with a foreign account, and transfers to and from another account with the same owner.
  • This requirement would apply to all business and personal accounts from financial institutions, including bank, loan, and investment accounts, with the exception of accounts below a low de minimis gross flow threshold of $600 or fair market value of $600.

Concerns:

  • This proposal would violate the personal privacy of members, like you, by forcing us and other financial institutions to provide the government with information that does not reflect taxable activity.
  • The government relies on decades old data systems to store and secure IRS information.  These systems have already been compromised in recent years, and the addition of this type of data only increases the likelihood of a future breach of your personal financial information.”

 

The credit union then goes on to ask us to send a letter to our representatives telling them we do not support this new legislation.