Your Tax Information Is For Sale!

The IRS has proposed a new rule that would allow tax preparers to sell or share a client's tax-return information with third parties, as long as they get the client's consent.

Many fear that taxpayers could be rushed or duped into signing the consent form when they are signing their tax returns and related documents. They could end up losing control over financial data they wouldn't want their closest friends or family to see, much less outside marketing and database firms.

Thus if you have someone doing your tax preparation paperwork, there is tremendous opportunity for mischief!

The IRS, with a straight face, says the existing prohibitions against sharing confidential data with outside parties "restrict the ability of taxpayers to control and direct the use of their own tax return information as they see fit."

According to one analyst, "everyone thinks the IRS is the Fort Knox of taxpayer information, but anyone who knows its history knows that is not so."

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