Ed Miller's Tax Article

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- Whoever said that the IRS can't share information with other law enforcement agencies is plain wrong. If you voluntarily disclose that you're (for example) a drug runner, the IRS absolutely can tell the FBI or the DEA. The prohibition is when you involuntarily disclose such information to the IRS. Be careful for what you put down as your profession on your tax return. There's a famous case of a bookmaker putting down his occupation as "bookmaker." The IRS told the FBI, and he ended up in jail and lost his appeal.



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Whoops. You may be referring to what I posted in another thread. I had read that in a book, but I guess I should have looked into it a little further first.

For anyone interested, here is a link to section 6103 of the US tax code, which deals with the disclosure of tax return information by the IRS to third parties:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/h...3----000-.html

Specifically, 6103.i.3 titled "(3) Disclosure of return information to apprise appropriate officials of criminal or terrorist activities or emergency circumstances " addresses the issue at hand.

If you look around, you'll see that the IRS takes privacy of tax return information very seriously, as they believe it is crucial to maintaining a high level of voluntary compliance with the tax code. In fact, as you can see in this report here - http://www.house.gov/jct/x-63-05.pdf -, the IRS only disclosed 276 returns in 2004 for the purpose of apprising appropriate officials of possible violations of federal law.

That said, it is obviously insane to be reckless when disclosing your occupation to the IRS. I'm sure nobody listens much to a guy with 4 posts, but sorry for posting inaccurate information.

Also, Mr. Fox, from what i can tell there's nothing in section 6103 that allows for the disclosure of information for the possible violation of state laws. Is this an accurate interpretation? For instance, say I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, a state that has specifically criminalized placing wagers with online casinos that are not licensed by the state. Would there be any reason to fear the IRS would or could share my tax return information with a state agency regarding my illegal online activity?