Biden's weaponized IRS is coming for your Venmo account

If you use Venmo or PayPal, filing your taxes will look much different this year. The Biden Administration and congressional Democrats have used their one-party rule in Washington to supercharge the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), expanding its size and authority to wage war on hardworking American families and small businesses across the nation.

Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which should more accurately be titled the Inflation Expansion Act, authorized $80 billion for the IRS to hire 87,000 new agents to target taxpayers. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that this move will lead to more audits and enforcement measures for households making less than $400,000. Ultimately, this will raise taxes on all Americans.

Unfortunately, the war on taxpayers did not stop there. In January, the Biden Administration’s rogue IRS will have a new target – anyone who uses third-party payment platforms such as PayPal, Venmo, or Cash App. Taxpayers who conduct over $600 worth of transactions on these platforms will now be required to submit a 1099-K Form to the IRS.

This form, which includes the user’s payment data and other personal information, will be sent to anyone participating in casual, day-to-day commerce, such as selling concert tickets or baby-sitting for a relative. This is a change from prior law, which exempted most casual exchanges and applied only to individuals with transactions exceeding $20,000 or 200 individual transactions.

NEW IRS RULE ON VENMO, CASH APP PAYMENTS THREATENS TO SWEEP UP MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

The new $600 threshold will hit millions of families and small businesses with burdensome and time-consuming paperwork at a time when many are struggling to make ends meet. This will not only complicate what is expected to be a messy filing season for taxpayers, it will further overwhelm an agency already dealing with an historic backlog of correspondence.

In addition, many Americans will receive 1099-Ks even if their transactions don’t carry a tax liability – making it likely that many Americans will mistakenly pay more taxes than they actually owe.

Let’s be clear, this policy is a blatant violation of President Biden’s promise not to increase taxes on households making $400,000 or less.

This new reporting requirement also puts Americans’ privacy at risk. Confidential taxpayer information will be more exposed to hacking, data breaches, and other forms of unauthorized access.

Families and small businesses have enough on their plate dealing with President Biden’s economic crisis – inflation is out of control, grocery store shelves remain empty, and small businesses are struggling to find workers to keep their doors open. The last thing households need right now is a confusing and complicated tax filing season with more rules, paperwork, and scrutiny from the IRS.

In the new Republican majority, Congress will focus on combatting these extreme policies. A key pillar of our Commitment to America is to provide the oversight needed to rein in government abuse of power and to provide real transparency. On the Ways and Means Committee, we will work from the very beginning to repeal this onerous, intrusive, ill-advised policy and focus on getting our nation back on track.

Republican David Kustoff represents Tennessee's 8th congressional district.