As the Biden administration prepares to add 87,000 new IRS agents to target taxpayers, a pair of Florida state lawmakers — Sen. Blaise Ingoglia and Rep. Toby Overdorf — moved to shield state residents from the tax men.
According to the Florida Standard, a conservative website, Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican, and Overdorf, R-Palm City, each filed bills to defend state residents from what Ingoglia referred to as “this ludicrous band of harassers.”
The bills would require state-chartered financial institutions to generate regular reports of when the IRS snoops into Floridians’ accounts. The purpose is to identify potential patterns of discrimination or targeting.
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The lawmakers also want a mandate that online apps provide Florida businesses with IRS form 1099s for financial transactions of more than $600.
And they want to set up a trust fund to help small business owners either defend against or sue the IRS in cases of perceived “politically motivated audits or federal overreach,” the Standard reported.
“The prospect of 87,000 more IRS agents is terrifying,” Ingoglia told the website.
“So, while our friends in Congress try to derail funding for this ludicrous band of harassers, we, at the state level, are arming our small businesses with the tools they need to fight back if targeted due to political affiliation or ideological differences.”
Ingoglia was referring to assertions by House Republicans in Congress who have pledged to repeal the provision or the funding for the new IRS army.
Overdorf told the Standard that he wants “to ensure President [Joe] Biden’s IRS overreach is kept in check and that Florida entrepreneurs can continue to thrive in the free state of Florida.”
Their measures mirror what state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis released in September as a way to fight the soon-to-be expanded IRS.
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As The Free Press reported at the time, Patronis released a four-point plan to block IRS intrusion into Florida taxpayers’ wallets.
He wanted state-chartered banks to report when the IRS came calling and the trust fund to help business owners fight back.
But Patronis also advocated yanking the licenses of debt collectors who work on behalf of the IRS to go after small businesses, nonprofits, or private individuals.
He also proposed civil penalties for IRS agents who exhibit “political discrimination” against individuals.
“Florida must force IRS bureaucrats to think twice before once again targeting conservatives,” said Patronis. “The IRS has a culture problem, and they need to police their own when it comes to political discrimination.”
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