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Jefferson City, MO—Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced that should proposals pass requiring financial institutions to turn over private citizens’ personal bank account information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if they exceed $600 of inflows or outflows from the account, he will not comply.

“As Treasurer, I have an obligation to the nearly 200,000 MOST 529 and MO ABLE account holders in Missouri and I will stand up to this government overreach and protect the privacy of those account holders. Turning over their transaction data to the federal government is illegal under Missouri law and a gross violation of Missourians’ expectation of privacy when it comes to their personal financial records. I will not turn this information over to the IRS voluntarily and will fight in court to block any attempt by the federal government to compel my office to comply with this mandate,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “This proposal is nonsensical and unnecessary and should be rejected by every member of Congress.”

                The Biden Administration proposal, part of the $3.5 trillion American Families Plan, would create a comprehensive financial account information reporting system under which financial institutions would be required to report information on accounts with inflows and outflows over $600. This unprecedented requirement would apply to over 100 million Americans with bank accounts while burdening financial institutions with increased compliance costs. It would also put sensitive financial data at risk and the IRS at a greater risk of cyber-attack.

                The records sought under this proposal are confidential under Missouri State Law for MOST and MO ABLE participants and cannot be disclosed. Likewise, Americans have a reasonable expectation of privacy with regards to personal financial records that would, in any other case, require a warrant to access.    

Treasurer Fitzpatrick administers MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan and MO ABLE, Missouri’s savings and investment program for individuals with disabilities. These programs represent nearly 200,000 savings and investment accounts.

In September, the Treasurer joined a coalition of 24 state financial officers opposing this Biden Administration proposal. A copy of their letter can be viewed here.

Treasurer Fitzpatrick is Vice Chair of the State Financial Officers Foundation.

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