Indecent Tax Proposal?

This year many Americans are worried their most intimate personal and financial information could get into the wrong hands, as the IRS makes a move to put your tax return on the auction block. KNWA`s Alexa Hamblin has more. A new proposal from the IRS suggests that commercial tax preparers should be allowed to sell your tax return information to marketing firms. "They could get your social security number, gross income, there are lots of things they could do," cautions Leann Davis, general manager of Liberty Tax Service in Fayetteville. It`s not a new concept, in fact, as long as you signed a form or checked a box giving your consent, some tax preparers have been selling other companies your intimate information for years. Now, though, the IRS says they want to update their regulations, and give the "okay" to companies interested in selling off your personal and financial tax information. "To have some degree of legal restrictions would be an improvement," says Liberty Tax Preparer John Lott. "I don`t think it would be the best arrangement. The best arrrangement would be complete restriction." Opponents to the proposal say too many people sign off on forms without reading the small print, and that means they may consent to releasing their tax information without realizing it. With nine million Americans impacted by identity theft every year, the ramifications are unsettling to many. Lott says, "If I were client coming to our business, I would not want my information to be sold." Still, the IRS says the idea is to improve consumer protections, afterall, the regulations require tax preparers to get your consent. The proposal will be discussed during a public hearing at the IRS office in Washington D.C. on April 4th. To view the Department of Treasury`s complete proposal, click on the link on the upper right side of this page. For KNWA Northwest Arkansas news... I`m Alexa Hamblin.