Posted on 02/08/2025 3:43:31 AM PST by EBH
March 21, 2024 Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland opening an inquiry into the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) use of artificial intelligence (AI) to surveil Americans' financial information. The Committee and its Select Subcommittee have reason to believe that the IRS and Department of Justice (DOJ) are actively monitoring millions of Americans' private transactions, bank accounts, and related financial information—without any legal process—using an AI-powered system. This AI-powered warrantless financial surveillance is highly concerning and raises serious doubts about the federal government's respect for Americans' fundamental civil liberties.
The letter also requests Alex Mena, an IRS official working in the agency's Criminal Investigations Unit who admitted that the IRS has "a new system" that uses AI to target Americans, appear before the Committee for a transcribed interview.
"The Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government are conducting oversight of the federal government’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to surveil American citizens' financial information. Based on recent reporting and other information obtained by the Committee and Select Subcommittee, we believe that the Department of the Treasury possesses information necessary for our oversight and we request your full cooperation.
"In September 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it was using AI to 'help IRS compliance teams better detect tax cheating, identify emerging compliance threats and improve case selection tools.' According to the announcement, 'the IRS is deploying new resources towards cutting-edge technology to improve our visibility on where the wealthy shield their income and focus staff attention on the areas of greatest abuse,' including 'cutting-edge machine learning technology.' On February 28, 2024, the Treasury Department publicly acknowledged that it has 'implemented an enhanced process using AI to mitigate check fraud in near real-time by strengthening and expediting processes to recover potentially fraudulent payments from financial institutions' since late 2022. As noted in a Treasury Department press release, '[t]he enhanced AI process and OPI’s [Office of Payment Integrity] strong partnership with federal law enforcement agencies have led to multiple active cases and arrests with law enforcement' and the recovery of $375 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 alone.
"However, recent reporting alleges that the IRS's use of AI has also included actively monitoring American citizens' bank accounts en masse and without legal process. Video footage obtained by an investigative media outlet appears to capture Alex Mena, an IRS official working in the agency’s Criminal Investigations Unit, admitting that the IRS has 'a new system' that uses AI to target 'potential abusers' by examining all returns, bank statements, and related financial information for 'potential for fraud.' Mena asserted that the new AI system has the ability to access and monitor 'all the information from all the companies in the world.' In the video, Mena suggested that the AI-powered system can 'see the amount' in every American's bank account, adding that this 'invasive' system is 'working really well' 'nationwide.' Mena also noted that IRS agents 'have no problem, like, going after the small people, you know, putting people in prison. Like destroying people's lives, they have no problem doing that.' When asked whether the system is constitutional, Mena replied, 'I doubt it.'
"The Committee and Select Subcommittee have reason to believe that the IRS is working with other federal agencies to conduct this AI-powered warrantless financial surveillance. In the video, Mena stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 'Inspector General' control this AI-powered warrantless surveillance system, 'not the IRS.' Additionally, the Treasury Department's February 28, 2024 press release makes clear that the Treasury Department's Office of Payment Integrity (OPI) has a 'strong partnership with federal law enforcement agencies,' which has 'led to multiple active cases and arrests.' These allegations are particularly concerning given the IRS's track record of targeting, harassing, and intimidating American taxpayers and journalists and history of ignoring due process requirements when investigating taxpayers.
"Congress has an important interest in protecting Americans' privacy, and the Committee and Select Subcommittee have been conducting oversight of the Executive Branch's financial surveillance of American citizens. The use of AI technology to actively monitor millions of Americans' private transactions, bank accounts, and related financial information—without any legal process—is highly concerning. This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with federal law enforcement, into Americans' private financial records raises serious doubts about the IRS's—and the federal government's—respect for Americans' fundamental civil liberties.
"Thus, in furtherance of the Committee’s oversight efforts, we ask that you please provide the following documents and information for the period January 1, 2021, to the present:
1. All documents and communications referring or relating to the use of artificial intelligence, including machine learning and large language models, to track, monitor, surveil, investigate, audit, or otherwise view the financial information of American citizens, including:
a. All documents and communications between the Treasury Department and any other federal agency; and
b. All documents and communications between the Treasury Department and any bank or financial institution.
2. All documents and communications referring or relating to the control of any artificial intelligence system described in Request 1."
Read the full letter to Secretary Yellen here.
Read the full letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland here.
For the record and for reference. As we watch the democrats meltdown over DOGE...
They authorized the IRS to do the exact same thing to us.
And if you are business owner, don't forget the crazy little thing we had to do from FINCEN and provide our personal information to FINCEN just this past year.
Yet, they want to get crazy about DOGE?
So what did Jordan find out? This story is almost a year old.
BOI Report Deadline for Small Businesses: Supreme Court Rules But Requirement Still Held Up
https://www.kiplinger.com/business/small-business/boi-report-deadline-for-small-businesses
As of the start of 2024, small companies meeting certain qualifications were required to file beneficial ownership information reports (BOI) with the Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This requirement came as part of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act.
However, there have been twists and turns to it in the last few weeks. Ultimately, as of January 24, 2025, the BOI report is still not required, despite a Supreme Court ruling.
Originally, the deadline to file the BOI report was January 1, 2025. In late December, that deadline was extended to January 13, following some litigation that may have slowed people down in their filings. Then on December 26, the requirement was put on hold as a result of a court decision. The latest action was a Supreme Court ruling on January 23, but even that wasn’t enough to force the requirement into action.
Some 32.6 million small businesses would qualify to have to submit this form, according to the government. That includes corporations as well as LLCs, and it is for those companies created or registered before January 1, 2024. Those that register after January 1, 2024, would have 90 days to file it, and those that register after January 1, 2025, would have 30 days to file it.
What’s going on with the BOI report deadline?
The National Federation of Independent Business has been fighting the BOI reporting requirement, calling it burdensome and an overreach. With several groups, the lawsuit Texas Top Cop Shop Inc. et al v. Garland et al has been ongoing.
In early December, a preliminary injunction was issued, stopping the requirement to submit a BOI report. But on December 23, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that. So for a few days, FinCEN was requiring it, with an extended deadline of January 13 to give companies a little more time. However, on December 26, a different panel of the 5th Circuit vacated the December 23 order. In other words, it put preliminary injunction is back in place and BOI reports were again not required.
The most recent news was January 23, when the Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act. However, that ruling didn’t address a different national injunction. As such, long story short, BOI reporting is still not required.
FinCEN confirms this on its website (emphasis mine) with a note published Friday: “As a separate nationwide order issued by a different federal judge in Texas (Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury) still remains in place, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN despite the Supreme Court’s action in Texas Top Cop Shop. Reporting companies also are not subject to liability if they fail to file this information while the Smith order remains in force.”
It’s possible this will change again, whether through the next action in the courts or through a decision by the administration of President Donald Trump or other lawmakers. Just last week, Republicans in Congress reintroduced a bill to repeal the Corporate Transparency Act, calling it “a big government overreach.”
Do you have to file a BOI report?
If you have an LLC or otherwise a small, registered business, chances are, you would have to fill out this form if the injunction is lifted and it’s allowed to be required.
The rule would apply to small businesses — companies with more than 20 full-time employees or that have made over $5 million in gross receipts or sales over the previous year do not have to file this form. There are other exceptions, which you can find listed out from FinCEN here.
FinCEN’s basic flowchart says that if the company is a corporation, limited liability company, or if it was “created by the filing of a document with a secretary of state or any similar office,” there is a chance it qualifies as a “reporting company” and will have to submit a BOI report, unless it has another exemption.
If you’re not totally sure if your company qualifies, you should check with your CPA or another financial professional you work with.
I.R.S. Deploys Artificial Intelligence to Catch Tax Evasion
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/08/us/politics/irs-deploys-artificial-intelligence-to-target-rich-partnerships.html
Sept. 8, 2023
The Internal Revenue Service has started using artificial intelligence to investigate tax evasion at multibillion-dollar partnerships as it looks for ways to better police hedge funds, private equity groups, real estate investors and large law firms.
As part of its recruiting strategy, the I.R.S. has been looking to hire data scientists to develop new in-house artificial intelligence tools. Mr. Werfel said that the agency is also collaborating with outside experts and contractors on the project.
Last month, the I.R.S. said it had increased its full-time staff to nearly 90,000, a level not seen in more than a decade.
Mr. Werfel warned that additional cuts to its annual budgets would require him to redirect money meant for upgrading the agency so that it can carry out basic tasks, and that ultimately taxpayers would bear the brunt of it.
“My big responsibility here is to make the case to Congress and to the American people that if you fund our base budget, it will enable us to both keep the lights on and modernize — and modernizing the I.R.S. is good for everybody,” he said
That is a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the waste and fraud discovery by DOGE. This is about power and ideology, not underpaid taxes.
I just find it incredibly offensive that they think it is ok to do to us...
But DOGE is worth lawsuits in court to stop.
The loss of funds has nothing to do with the American taxpayers or even the wealthy, it has to do with them and their waste.
As a little blond once said, “How dare they?”
ALL, and I mean ALL the public and personal information of ANYONE in a political office, local, state, federal, must be put on line in a central location for anyone to view, that includes up to the second tracking and video. That should put an end to all this shit!
Much of this was part of the Inflation Reduction Act, I am 60 odd years old. So my first vote was for Reagan.
Every year I heard nothing from the Democrats other than they needed more and more revenue. Hand over fist they raised taxes and the IRS meddled with the rates. All my working life they sucked anywhere from 15-35% out of my paycheck. And they still wanted more.
Now to the point they use AI to surveil our bank accounts and even monitor how much we spend in an app like Venmo down to the last penny.
Everyone is celebrating DOGE. Let’s not forget there has been a few times republicans had the control...and they caved time and again to the democrats.
There was Tea in a harbor for much less tax abuse, there were massive Tea Party rallies for much less tax abuse.
Right now everyone is watching the democrats meltdown, soon it may very well be a few republicans starting to worry. Let’s not ever forget the years we sat on this very forum complaining how they failed, how they took victory and squandered it, and how they themselves could of and should have stopped it.
And let’s not forget ourselves. We who did not take up the mantle of public service, failed to go to work for the government inside those very offices where they used and abused our tax dollars.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.