The IRS is concerned about tax preparation software companies transmitting sensitive taxpayer data to Facebook and Google, according to an agency official.
Timothy McCormally, special counsel for the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, said there have been discussions about the issue but that he is unsure how the IRS will handle it. McCormally spoke at the American Institute of CPAs’ November 15 Fall Tax Division Meeting.
The problem was brought to light when the news website The Markup reported last year that H&R Block, TaxAct, and TaxSlayer were sending sensitive financial information to Facebook through a piece of code called the Meta Pixel. That prompted congressional Democrats to call for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to investigate the data-sharing practices of those companies.
The pixel code collects names, email addresses, and data on users’ income, filing status, refund amounts, and dependents’ college scholarship amounts. The Markup found similar financial data — although not names — being sent to Google by TaxAct.
In a February 2 letter to TIGTA, Reps. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and House Ways and Means Committee member Judy Chu, D-Calif., expressed concern that the disclosure may have violated...
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