Protecting Taxpayer Privacy Is a Paramount Concern.

ACTR companies recognize that income tax returns contain taxpayers’ personal and most sensitive financial information, and our members are absolutely committed to protecting and respecting taxpayers’ privacy. The protections for taxpayers that are required by federal statute and regulation are public policies that ACTR member companies must comply with on every tax return each year, even as industry continues to innovate on taxpayer privacy protections. Given the increasing concerns regarding cybersecurity and identity theft tax refund fraud, ACTR members have helped lead the fight to protect taxpayers and the tax administration system from such crimes. ACTR members also are committed to following their obligations under IRS regulations (e.g., IRS regulation Section 7216) — which prohibit the use or disclosure of tax return information for any purpose (with limited exceptions) absent the taxpayer’s voluntary consent – and ACTR members believe that all such regulations should be modernized to ensure they are consistent with taxpayer needs and technology capabilities.