Murray wrote:
“Mr. Commissioner, what possible public purpose is served by expanding the opportunities for tax preparers and their affiliates to use personal financial data to sell mortgages, mutual funds, IRA accounts and life insurance? Don’t taxpayers already have innumerable opportunities to shop for such services without subjecting their tax returns to perusal by marketers? Who specifically asked you or your staff for this regulatory change and when did they ask for it? And, most importantly, how is this change consistent with the purpose of Section 7216 of the code? I hope and expect that you will be prepared to answer these and related questions in detail during our subcommittee’s hearing on April 27th. In the meantime, I implore you to revise these regulations with a mind toward protecting the privacy interests of taxpayers, not just those that want to use taxpayers’ financial data for marketing purposes.”
Read the full text of Murray’s letter to Commissioner Everson.