Sep 22, 2021

Mo. bankers object to Biden proposal to track $600 cash transactions

Posted Sep 22, 2021 4:00 PM

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — A proposal being pushed by the Biden administration that banks report all transactions of more than $600 and keep tabs on accounts above that threshold is strongly opposed by the Missouri Bankers Association.

Executive Vice President of Member Services Jackson Hataway says the IRS claims the proposal would catch the wealthiest Americans attempting to move money around outside of the tax system.

“And the reality is our federal agencies do not use data that well as it is now,” Hataway tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “So, what in the world would lead us to believe that a landslide of more data from millions of Americans is suddenly going to make our tax policy more effective? The ones and zeroes don’t add up. The math doesn’t make sense.”

Hataway says the $600-dollar threshold would affect the vast majority of bank customers.

“Basically, affects every consumer at every bank,” according to Hataway. “There will certainly be those who have underneath the $600 threshold, but the vast majority of accounts will be subject to this kind of regulation and intrusive action from the government.”

Hataway says the federal government at present requires banks to report transactions of more than $10,000 under the Currency Transaction Report (CTR). This proposal greatly expands that requirement, lowering the threshold to transactions exceeding $600.

The proposal was attached to the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, but removed. The MBA expects it to resurface in another form.

Hataway calls the proposal a breach of privacy.

“While we can appreciate the objective goal of trying to track down more revenues from people who are dodging the tax system, this methodology for doing it is unproven, it’s unsound, and honestly in a world of data breaches, where we see the IRS and other agencies constantly dealing with cyber struggles, the thought of all of our account information flowing into an entity that can’t keep data secure, should reasonably be something that we’re all deeply concerned about,” Hataway says.

The proposal seems to have flown under the radar for a while, but Hataway says more and more banks report customers have started complaining about the proposal. The MBA is encouraging Missourians to contact members of Congress and voice opposition to the proposal.

Cover image courtesy Pixabay