RALEIGH – State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced that he is joining 23 other state treasurers, auditors and financial officers in signing a letter opposing legislation that gives the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sweeping new powers to monitor American bank accounts with more than $600 in deposited funds. The additional IRS surveillance authority was first made public in May 2021 and is included in the proposed $3.5 trillion federal budget plan.
“I believe that everyone should pay their fair share of taxes,” Treasurer Folwell said. “However, this proposal is an unprecedented invasion of privacy that could actually increase the problem of the ‘unbanked’ and ‘underbanked’ in America.”
The treasurer’s office says reports show that 25% of all U.S. households are either unbanked or underbanked.
Folwell also expressed his concern that the new regulations would be overly burdensome and expensive for many small community banks that serve rural North Carolina.
“These new IRS powers will have a chilling effect on those who already operate outside of the current banking system,” said Treasurer Folwell. “They are already frequent victims of predatory lenders and others that seek to take advantage of them because they don’t have access to traditional financial services.”
Treasurer Folwell joins more than 40 national trade associations, including the American Bankers Association, the United States Chamber of Commerce and the North Carolina Bankers Association in opposing the new proposed powers.
