COMING TO CONGRESS: The IRS Abuse Protection Act. “Senator Lamar Alexander and Representative Stephen Fincher will introduce the IRS Abuse Protection Act, which requires that the secretary of the U.S. treasury notify taxpayers in writing each time the IRS accesses their tax accounts, tax returns, or other information. The notice must include who accessed the information, the reason for doing so, and the method of access. In addition, taxpayers will receive a copy of the accessed information and any report issued on how it was used. . . . The IRS has been under investigation by the House Oversight Committee after reports that the agency singled out conservative and tea-party groups requesting tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny.”

The legislation should also waive official immunity on the part of any IRS employee violating it, making them subject to civil suit, with statutory damages starting at $50,000 per occurrence.