Privacy Implications of IRS' Proposed Tax Administration System

Concerns were expressed about the collection of, access to, and use of information in the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) proposed computerized Tax Administration System.

IRS does not plan to collect and retain significant additional information not already in its files. The information would: meet relevancy requirements of the Privacy Act; not include individuals' religious, political, or other affiliations; be collected to the greatest extent practicable directly from the subject individual; and not be disclosed without notice to the individual. The system would improve the efficiency of performing necessary cross-references between related accounts. IRS plans to continue current security measures for control of access to data and to add an additional feature, the use of a coded identification badge. There are legislative restrictions on the use of taxpayer information both by IRS and for nontax purposes.