Florida’s two U.S. senators–Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott–are backing a proposal from U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., to “strike the tax code provision inserted by the Biden Administration in the American Rescue Plan (ARP) that requires third-party payment platforms to report businesses’ gross transaction volumes totaling more than $600 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).”
Hagerty introduced the “Stop the Nosy Obsession with Online Payments (SNOOP) Act” last week with nine Republican co-sponsors including Rubio and Scott.
“Prior to the ARP, payment providers were only required to report information when a payee had over 200 commercial transactions per year that exceeded $20,000. As a result of the new provision, thousands of small businesses will have to fill out 1099-Ks to provide their personal information to the IRS, despite the IRS’ poor history of safeguarding Americans’ personal data,” Hagerty’s office noted.
“The Biden administration is relentless in their attempt to invade the privacy of Americans’ lives and finances,” said Hagerty. “It is regrettable that this Administration insists on advancing their perilous and oppressive political agenda to the detriment of taxpayers’ privacy, heedless of their failed track record of protecting Americans’ confidential data. It is past time we stand up for our small business owners and say ‘no more snooping’ to this Administration’s egregious and unwarranted overreach.”
“President Biden claims he isn’t going to raise taxes on those making less than $400,000, but by increasing reporting requirements for small businesses and independent contractors the cost of doing business just keeps going up,” said Scott. “Along with trillions in unnecessary and unrelated in spending in their so-called ‘COVID’ spending package, Biden and the Democrats snuck in a tax increase on gig workers, like hardworking Americans that drive for Uber, Lyft or DoorDash. Meanwhile, Democrats refuse to acknowledge the inflation and supply chain crisis. Let me be clear: reckless spending is causing inflation, and further increasing costs and regulations on already-struggling Americans only makes things worse. I want to thank Senator Hagerty for continuing our fight in protecting working-class families, and I urge my colleagues for their support of the SNOOP Act.”
“The Biden administration’s total disregard for privacy has to be stopped,” said Rubio. “There is no reason that the IRS should be putting Americans’ confidential transactions under a microscope. I will continue to fight for taxpayer privacy and push back against this gross overreach of federal power.”
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee last week. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. House.
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