A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase criminal and civil penalties for unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 11, 2026 · Last action June 11, 2026
Plain English Summary
This bill increases the criminal and civil penalties that the Internal Revenue Service can impose on people who illegally disclose confidential taxpayer information. It strengthens enforcement against IRS employees, contractors, and others who leak or misuse tax records without authorization.
Who benefits
Taxpayers and individuals whose tax records could be compromised; the IRS and federal government as enforcers of tax law; privacy advocates and civil liberties organizations concerned with personal data protection; businesses and high-net-worth individuals at higher risk of targeted data breaches.
Who pays / loses
IRS employees and contractors who engage in unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information; third parties (such as former employees or hackers working with insiders) who receive leaked tax data; individuals currently evading penalties for such disclosures due to lower statutory caps.
Funding & Lobbying Interests
This bill has no direct financial beneficiaries or lobbying coalition with a monetary stake in passage. Privacy-focused civil rights organizations and government transparency advocates may support it on principle, but do not receive direct funding from it. No sponsor finance data was provided.
Political Impact
Affected Groups
All taxpayers whose confidential information (income, deductions, payment history, social security numbers) could be compromised by IRS insiders; high-income earners and business owners with complex returns at elevated risk of targeted disclosure; IRS employees and federal contractors with access to tax records.
Political Subtext
Proponents frame this as a necessary privacy protection that deters insider threats and data breaches within the IRS. Critics may argue that increased criminal penalties alone do not address systemic IRS security gaps, inadequate training, or the root causes of insider misconduct. Non-partisan evidence from GAO audits has documented recurring security weaknesses in IRS information systems, but academic consensus does not establish whether penalty increases alone significantly reduce disclosure rates without complementary IT security improvements.
Real-World Stakes
Passage increases jail sentences and fines for IRS employees and contractors caught leaking tax data, raising the legal deterrent. This follows documented cases of IRS employees accessing celebrity tax returns (most notably in 2013, when multiple IRS employees were fired for unauthorized access to actor Angelina Jolie's records). Stronger penalties may reduce internal breaches, but effectiveness depends on IRS enforcement capacity and detection technology. No comparable federal penalty increase has been scored by the Congressional Budget Office in available public records, limiting evidence on deterrent magnitude.
Sponsor
Co-sponsors (1)
DSen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Vote Record
No recorded votes.
Campaign Finance — Primary Sponsor
Top contributing industries
Other$390,186.09
Finance$25,900
Agriculture$10,140.4
Construction$3,700
Healthcare$2,582
501(c)(4) disclosure: Contributions from 501(c)(4) "dark money" organizations are not required to be publicly disclosed and are not reflected in the figures above. Data sourced from FEC public disclosure filings.
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