Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-NY-21 says she is pleased to support this package of reforms to protect taxpayers in our district and across the nation.

“As technology continues to advance, people’s personal information can be at an increased risk. It is critical that we update our laws and regulations to better protect our hardworking constituents, and I will continue to work in Congress on commonsense reforms like these.”

According to the IRS, “This filing season, the Internal Revenue Service has seen a steep upswing in the number of reported thefts of taxpayer data from tax practitioner offices. Seventy-five firms reported taxpayer data thefts in January and February, nearly a 60 percent increase from the same time last year. Much of this increase follows one scam, the erroneous refund scheme, that affected thousands of taxpayers and numerous practitioners earlier this filing season.”

The legislation Congresswoman Stefanik is supporting includes:

Justice for Victims of IRS Scams and Identity Theft Act of 2018 (H.R. 2905)

Summary: Requires the attorney general and treasury secretary to create and submit reports to Congress about identity theft across the United States specifically about tax scams.

Taxpayer First Act (H.R. 5444)

Summary: This will help modernize the IRS for the first time since 1998 by bringing service into the 21st century, increasing sensible enforcement of IRS rules, and protecting taxpayers from identify theft.

21st Century IRS Act (H.R. 5445)

Summary: The Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved this bill, which will dramatically refocus the IRS back to its “taxpayer first” mission. This bill will take steps to provide greater accountability, transparency, and security for IRS information technology.

Protecting Children from Identity Theft Act (H.R. 5192).

Summary: About 1.3 million kids have their identity stolen annually and 50% of those children are younger than six years old. This bill directs the Social Security Administration to confirm whether or not a name, date of birth, and Social Security Number are being used.

To provide for a single point of contact at the Internal Revenue Service for the taxpayers who are victims of tax-related identity theft (H.R. 5439)

Summary: The bill requires the Secretary (or his delegate) to establish procedures to implement a single point of contact for taxpayers adversely affected by identity theft. The single point of contact consists of a team or subset of specifically trained employees who can work across functions to resolve problems for the victim and who are accountable for handling the case to completion.

Social Security Child Protection Act of 2018 (H.R. 1512)

Summary: Requires the Social Security Administration to issue a new Social Security number to a child under the age of 14 when that child’s parent or guardian has provided sufficient evidence, as determined by the Commissioner and under penalty of perjury, that the child’s Social Security card has been stolen while being mailed to his or her address.

Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act (H.R. 4403)

Summary: Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 and requires CBP to ensure that certain personally identifiable information, such as social security numbers and passport numbers, is removed from any manifest that is signed, produced, delivered, or electronically transmitted to CBP before the manifest is made available to the public.

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program for the issuance of identity protection personal identification numbers (H.R. 5437)

Summary: This bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury, within five years, to establish a program to issue Identity Protection Personal Identification Numbers to any individual requesting one to assist the Secretary in verifying the individual’s true identity.