PORTLAND (WGME) -- A proposal from the Biden administration involving the IRS could affect more than 100 million American households.
For some people, it’s a plan to make the rich pay their fair share of taxes.
Others see the proposal as an invasion of privacy.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the nation’s tax gap is approximately $600 million a year.
That’s the difference between the taxes Americans owe and what they actually pay.
The Biden administration wants to crack down on those who aren’t paying, so it wants banks to give the IRS details on all accounts with balances as low as $600.
While the goal is to catch wealthy people not paying their taxes, critics argue the $600 threshold means low- and middle-income Americans will lose their financial privacy. A treasury spokesperson told the New York Times the targets are those in the top 1 percent of earners.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the IRS would not get specific information on purchases, just total money going in and out of the account. That’s not good enough for opponents, who say this as an invasion of privacy.
Congress must still approve the proposal, and there's word it could be changed before a vote even takes place.
CNBC reports Democrats are talking about raising the threshold from $600 to $10,000.