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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Biden administration's revenue proposal for |
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fiscal year 2022 includes a number of provisions that would place |
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undue burdens on banks, small businesses, and law-abiding American |
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citizens; and |
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WHEREAS, The proposal seeks to improve tax enforcement |
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measures by requiring peer-to-peer payment transaction apps as well |
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as banks and other financial institutions to annually report |
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aggregated data on all account inflows and outflows of $600 or more |
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to the Internal Revenue Service; the reports would also disclose |
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whether transactions involved physical cash, foreign accounts, or |
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transfers between accounts with the same owner; critics of the |
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proposal have highlighted key issues regarding privacy, compliance |
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costs, and negative impacts on low-income communities; and |
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WHEREAS, The proposal's low $600 threshold for reporting |
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would ensnare most active bank accounts, including those owned by |
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individuals and small businesses; as a result, the financial data |
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of the majority of bank accounts would be sent to the IRS, which |
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experiences more than one billion cyberattacks each year; in |
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addition, a June 2021 ProPublica article revealed a massive leak of |
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tax return data from the IRS, demonstrating that the agency is |
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unable or unwilling to protect taxpayer information; considering |
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its many vulnerabilities in cybersecurity, the IRS should not be |
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trusted with more private information; and |
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WHEREAS, By holding financial institutions responsible for |
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data collection and reporting, the proposal would force banks to |
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increase spending on additional staffing, technology, and other |
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resources; these costs could then be passed on to the depositors, |
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thereby burdening tax-compliant citizens and businesses; and |
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WHEREAS, People from both political parties have expressed |
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concern about the Biden administration's revenue proposal; a group |
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of 141 House Republicans explained their position in a letter to |
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their Democratic colleagues, and House Democrats omitted the bank |
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reporting requirements in their September 2021 list of tax policy |
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changes due to the potential harm it may cause to low-income |
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communities; moreover, an Independent Community Bankers of America |
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poll conducted by Morning Consult found bipartisan opposition to |
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the IRS reporting requirements included in the proposal, with 67 |
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percent of voters opposed and more than half of voters strongly |
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opposed; and |
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WHEREAS, The Biden administration's revenue proposal fails |
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to consider cybersecurity risks and unjust burdens on lawful |
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individuals, and the United States Congress should oppose this |
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unprecedented intrusion into the privacy of Americans; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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3rd Called Session, hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the |
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United States to oppose the burdensome reporting requirements |
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included in the Biden administration's revenue proposals for fiscal |
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year 2022; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |