WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service improperly disclosed the confidential tax information of thousands of people to federal immigration enforcement authorities, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the situation.
The newspaper said the tax-collecting agency recently discovered the mistake and is working with other federal agencies on a response.
The IRS did not immediately return a request for comment on the report.
In April, the Treasury Department, the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security finalized an agreement under which taxpayer data will be provided to federal immigration authorities to help them locate migrants. The move prompted the resignations of top IRS officials.
The deal broke with a longstanding IRS policy that encouraged immigrants to pay taxes even if they are not in the U.S. legally, assuring them that their data would be protected.
A federal judge last week struck down the agreement, but not before DHS requested the addresses of 1.2 million individuals from the IRS and the tax agency responded with data on 47,000 individuals, the Post reported, citing court records.
“When the IRS shared the addresses with DHS, it also inadvertently disclosed private information for thousands of taxpayers erroneously,” the Post reported, citing the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Paul Simao)
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