House Republicans are demanding answers from the Internal Revenue Services after the agency destroyed 30 million paper-filed tax documents last year.
House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-KY) and Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee Ranking Member Nancy Mace (R-SC) sent the letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig on Wednesday, according to a report by Fox Business.
“Committee Republicans are concerned that the destruction of these documents might slow down already inefficient processing procedures and hurt American taxpayers left unaware that the IRS destroyed documents already entrusted into its care,” they wrote.
The letter added that “it appears that the IRS may now demand that taxpayers provide duplicate copies of information previously destroyed by the IRS.”
The documents reportedly included Forms W-2, 1099, and 1098. The forms are used by the IRS to verify taxpayer information for millions of Americans.
The letter also requested copies of communications related to the destruction of the documents by the IRS to show who approved the actions.
The Daily Wire reported last month that the IRS shredded tax data for millions of filers, according to the agency’s own watchdog, in a move that enraged tax professionals and prompted a key Democratic lawmaker to call for the firing of the agency’s chief.
The news that 30 million paper tax returns had been dumped came in a report from the Department of Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration. The report revealed that the agency trashed the documents over a year ago following a large backlog.
“The continued inability to process backlogs of paper-filed tax returns contributed to management’s decision to destroy an estimated 30 million paper-filed information return documents in March 2021,” the report stated.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) called on the Biden administration to fire IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig over the scandal.
“The IRS is vital to public confidence in our nation and its Trump-appointed leader has failed,” Pascrell, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight subcommittee, said.
In addition to the controversy over the destroyed documents, the IRS has faced widespread pushback over its online facial recognition program.
In February, the agency relented over privacy concerns according to a statement released by the IRS.
“The IRS announced today that a new option in the agency’s authentication system is now available for taxpayers to sign up for IRS online accounts without the use of any biometric data, including facial recognition. This is consistent with the IRS’s commitment earlier this month to transition away from the requirement for taxpayers creating an IRS online account to provide a selfie to a third-party service to help authenticate their identity,” the IRS said in a statement.
“Taxpayers will have the option of verifying their identity during a live, virtual interview with agents; no biometric data – including facial recognition – will be required if taxpayers choose to authenticate their identity through a virtual interview,” the statement added.