Steve Daines
06/11/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/11/2026 09:23
Daines, Cortez Masto Introduce Bill to Protect American Taxpayers’ Privacy
- June 11, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today introduced a bill to protect the privacy of American taxpayers' information. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase criminal and civil penalties for unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information.
"One of the IRS's most important responsibilities is protecting the confidentiality of taxpayer information. The last thing hardworking Americans should have to worry about is their tax information being breached or leaked. I'm proud to work with Senator Cortez Masto on this bill to protect taxpayer privacy rights and crack down on criminals who try to take advantage of the system," said Daines.
"When Americans pay their taxes, they are entrusting the government with extremely sensitive information - everything from Social Security numbers to banking details. As the IRS relies more heavily on government contractors, we need to do more to ensure they don't mishandle taxpayer information. This bipartisan legislation will hold bad actors who put everyday Americans' data in harm's way accountable," said Cortez Masto.
Background:
This bill establishes new provisions which raise the existing criminal penalty for unauthorized disclosure of returns from a maximum fine of $5,000 and up to five years imprisonment, to a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to seven years imprisonment. The bill would also establish a new felony offense for IRS contactors who willfully fail to enforce safeguards required under Sec. 6103, and establishes a maximum penalty of either a $500,000 fine, or 25 percent of the total amount obligated under all IRS contracts held by the contractor in the first fiscal year when the contractor was given access to the return information at issue, whichever is greater. The bill would also increase the minimum statutory civil damages for unauthorized disclosure from $1,000 per act to $5,000 per act.
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