Submitted by United States Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana
WASHINGTON (September 24, 2024) – Senator John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to safeguard Americans’ sensitive data and increase penalties for those who steal and leak Americans’ tax information.
“American taxpayers deserve to know that their financial data is safe from criminals and bad actors. My bill would discourage would-be crooks and vigilantes from exposing anyone’s personal tax information by increasing the punishment for those abuses,” said Kennedy.
Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act in the House, which passed the legislation earlier this month.
“Americans rightfully expect their personal tax information is safe and protected when they file their tax returns with the IRS. Unfortunately, that expectation was shattered when IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was discovered to have stolen the private tax data of thousands of individuals, including President Trump, and leaked that information to the New York Times and ProPublica for publishing. Mr. Littlejohn was aware of the legal consequences before committing his theft, but was unfazed and undeterred. He even went as far as to destroy evidence and conceal his actions from law enforcement. The Taxpayer Data Protection Act scales up the punishment to fit the crime and sends a clear message to would-be criminals that Congress will not tolerate the theft of Americans’ personal and private tax information,” said Smith.
Under current law, disclosing tax information without that authority is a felony that is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, by a sentence of up to five years in prison or both. The legislation would increase the maximum fine to as much as $250,000, lengthen potential prison sentences to as many as 10 years and subject criminals to either or both punishments.
Kennedy’s bill would also clarify that a person who exposes personal data is subject to prosecution for every taxpayer whose data he or she leaked. The Biden Justice Department recently employed a political maneuver by charging Charles Littlejohn with one count of improperly disclosing tax return information even though he stole tax return information for thousands of Americans. Under this bill, criminals who share data from multiple Americans would not be able to avoid prosecution for multiple counts.
Background:
- In 2019, Internal Revenue Service contractor Charles Littlejohn illegally leaked the tax returns of President Donald Trump to the New York Times.
- In 2020, Littlejohn also illegally disclosed the tax information of roughly 7,600 individuals and 600 entities to ProPublica for political purposes.
- In 2023, the Department of Justice announced it was charging Littlejohn with just one count of disclosing tax return information without authorization despite his distributing the information of thousands of Americans.
- The judge overseeing the case ultimately sentenced Littlejohn to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine because the law did not allow a more appropriate punishment.
The full bill text is available here.
