Biden doesn't want the IRS scrolling through your bank records The IRS would be gathering more information from Americans' bank accounts under President Biden's plan to discourage tax-dodging and round up more money for his "Build Back Better" agenda. But there's a difference between what Democrats have proposed — reporting the total inflow and outflow for any account with more than $10,000 in annual transactions, excepting all wages and federal benefits — and what Republicans say about it. "Under this proposal, the intimate financial details of everyone in this room, at a minimum of every American who has a job, will be turned over on a daily basis to the IRS," said Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.), one of several GOP senators who claimed at a news conference this week that the IRS would be snooping on Americans' bank records. This level of scrutiny does not appear anywhere in the Democrats' proposal, as confirmed by tax experts from the center-left and center-right. These claims earned Three Pinocchios. Banks would report once a year, not daily. The IRS would not be monitoring individual transactions under Biden's plan. The new reporting requirement would cover the totals for money coming in and money going out, not the blow-by-blow of how people spent their money. Academic researchers have estimated that the tax gap — or the difference between taxes owed and collected — is around $600 billion a year. The top 1 percent of earners accounts for more than $160 billion, according to the Treasury Department. The IRS already has access to income totals for all workers drawing a salary, anyone making money on stocks, and whoever makes at least $10 in interest. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. A Biden favorite on corporate taxes "Here's the deal: If you spent $3 on your coffee this morning, that's more than what 55 major corporations paid in taxes in recent years," Biden tweeted this week, a trusty talking point he often uses to pitch higher tax rates for businesses and wealthy earners. Usually the president is careful to refer to federal taxes. The companies in question say they pay billions of dollars in state, local and property taxes. The tweet also says "recent years" when in fact the number refers to just one year — 2020. The number comes from an April report by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The group studied corporate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission of companies listed in the Fortune 500, zeroing in on companies that posted profits. In 2020, 55 profitable companies indicated that they paid no federal income tax even though they collectively earned almost $40.5 billion in pretax income, the study found. The hitch: Company tax returns generally are not made public, so these numbers are an imperfect measure. A company's annual SEC filing in March generally will have estimates of taxes to be paid, as the actual tax return generally is not filed until later in the year, and there may be a gulf between forecast and reality. Nevertheless, the notion that 10 to 20 percent of Fortune 500 companies do not pay federal income taxes is consistent with a 2020 report by the nonpartisan Joint Committee of Taxation. The JCT was able to examine the actual tax filings but could not reveal the names of the companies. Readers should keep in mind that Biden is using estimates that are in the ballpark, not hard numbers. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @rizzoTK, @AdriUsero) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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