Elon Musk's DOGE asks for access to IRS taxpayer data, sources say
Elon Musk's DOGE asks for access to IRS taxpayer data, sources say
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency requested access to an IRS data system that retains the personal tax information on millions of Americans, sources say.
Summary
Elon Musk has requested access to the IRS's Integrated Data Retrieval System, which contains personal tax information for millions of Americans.
The request has not yet been granted but has raised alarm among privacy experts and government officials.
Critics fear Musk could misuse the data, especially given his existing federal contracts. The IRS is considering a memorandum to permit access, despite strict rules against unauthorized viewing.
A federal judge has already blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury data, but other agencies remain vulnerable.
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I think he should get access to it.
I think everyone should get access to it.
That's how we do it in Scandinavia. It's been good for fighting corruption.
If your neighbour has a brand new Lamborghini in his driveway, while filling an income of 20k€ the last year. Maybe ask the IRS to look a bit closer at his finances.
I use it to see how much my colleagues make, so I have a leg to stand on in salary negotiations.
That's not how it works here... Don't pretend and welcome his horseshit. This is probably about making a personal enemies list
In a fair democracy, sure. But the US ain’t that; I wouldn’t be surprised if they used donation write-offs to target political opponents.
Political donations are generally not tax deductible so wouldn’t show up on the returns.
You’ve misunderstood; Donations to charities like The Trevor Project are deductible, and would be very much considered political.
The only way the Trump administration is going to do anything about people cheating on their taxes is to pardon them for it.
Well, if they are from the right class. I'm not sure that offer applies to the peasants.
Most of the world also requires annual reports to be made public
Also very convenient for criminals to target wealthy people and scam or rob them?
Well, the Lambo in the driveway will be more obvious than publicly accessible tax records.
There are plenty of wealthy people who keep a low profile though.
Good point: a lot of theft stems from people reading tax returns and robbing the rich. That’s why high-income neighborhoods also have the highest crime 🙄
You know what's even more convenient?
Scammers from poorer countries just targeting the elderly and retired in richer countries. You know, like they currently do.
What's with the fear mongering about a system that's been shown to reduce corruption? Do you like corruption? Do you like people cheating the benefits system?
You can find the rich people by driving to the best part of town. If they stop you from going further you've found the wealthy people.
The same argument that's been parroted by right wing parties here for decades. However it doesn't really mesh well with reality. Not that right wing parties ever really cared about reality.
That does sound like a good system.