[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 97 (Friday, June 20, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE TAXPAYER IDENTITY PROTECTION ACT OF 2014

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2014

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Taxpayer 
Identity Protection Act of 2014.
  This bill will help cut down on tax fraud from identity theft, a 
serious problem that costs the government billions of dollars annually. 
My bill would truncate Social Security Numbers on Forms W-2, and the 
Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that implementing it would have a 
negligible revenue effect.
  At the moment, W-2 forms contain a person's full Social Security 
Number, making it easy for someone to steal an identity. This bill 
would give the IRS the authority to shorten Social Security Numbers on 
W-2 forms, making it tougher for a person's identity to be stolen if 
their W-2 ends up in the wrong hands.
  The Treasury Department wrote in the Greenbook that ``the risk of 
identity theft from Form W-2 is high because employers are required to 
file a Form W-2 for each employee who receives wages.'' It added that, 
``providing the IRS authority to require or permit truncated SSNs on 
Forms W-2 would reduce the risk of identity theft and improper payments 
resulting from false or fraudulent returns.''
  In 2010, a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) 
report estimated that ``$21 billion in potentially fraudulent refunds'' 
would be issued over the next five years as a result of identity theft. 
The report noted that this estimate is likely conservative.

                          ____________________