US tax agency broke privacy law approximately 42,695 times', judge says

"The IRS not only failed to ensure that ICE's request for confidential taxpayer address information met the statutory requirements, but this failure led the IRS to disclose confidential taxpayer addresses to ICE in situations where ICE's request for that information was patently deficient."

"The ruling cited IRS Code 6103, one of the strictest confidentiality laws in federal statute, which largely prohibits the disclosure of tax return information without consent. Kollar-Kotelly said that the IRS violated that law approximately 42,695 times by disclosing last known taxpayer addresses to ICE."

"An IRS declaration revealed that the IRS had provided the Department of Homeland Security with information on 47,000 of the 1.28 million people that ICE had requested. In most of those cases, the tax agency gave ICE additional address information in violation of privacy rules created to protect taxpayer data."

US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly determined that the IRS violated Internal Revenue Code Section 6103, one of the strictest federal confidentiality statutes, by sharing confidential taxpayer addresses with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The IRS disclosed information on approximately 42,695 occasions without ensuring ICE's requests met statutory requirements. An IRS declaration revealed the agency provided Department of Homeland Security with information on 47,000 of 1.28 million people ICE requested, often including additional address information in violation of privacy protections. The judge found the IRS failed to verify that ICE's requests were legally sufficient before disclosing sensitive taxpayer data. The government is appealing the decision, though the judge noted an IRS official's declaration significantly supports the ruling.

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