Tax preparers that shared private data with Meta, Google could be fined billions

Yesterday, Congress members revealed the results of a seven-month investigation into tax-filing companies. Lawmakers found that H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer "recklessly shared" potentially hundreds of millions of taxpayers' sensitive personal and financial data with Google and Meta "for years" in apparent violation of laws prohibiting tax preparers from sharing tax return information without customers' consent.

In a press release provided to Ars from the office of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), lawmakers alleged a "massive, likely illegal breach of taxpayer privacy." Insisting upon urgent redress, lawmakers are now calling upon the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Federal Trade Commission, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to "fully investigate this matter and prosecute any company or individuals who violated the law."

The Congress members' report said that "any tax return preparer who 'knowingly or recklessly discloses'" tax return information "is subject to a fine up to $1,000 per violation, and a prison term of up to one year."