A few weeks ago the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a little-noticed report concluding that even in the aftermath of the Chaz Littlejohn scandal of thousands of stolen private tax returns, the agency STILL has no regard for the security of confidential taxpayer information.
The report found:
The IRS did not maintain secure bins as required for sensitive documents waiting to be destroyed. The IRS used open containers and bins with disposal slots that have been altered or were in poor condition, allowing access to discarded sensitive documents.
The IRS no longer performs on-site inspections at facilities where sensitive documents are brought for destruction to ensure proper disposal… trash containers being used for all waste, including sensitive documents that contained tax information and Personally Identifiable Information…
The use of these open trash containers exposes sensitive documents for anyone (employees, contractors, or visitors) to retrieve, which can cause a potential unauthorized access and disclosure incident. Once the trash leaves the IRS facility, it is possible someone could access sensitive information.
Gee, this looks like air-tight security. This would be like a bank posting the combination for accessing the vault.
Thanks to the folks at Americans for Tax Reform for alerting us to this ongoing outrage. Maybe it’s time to fire, not hire at the incompetent IRS.