Decision Follows Preliminary Ruling in September, Marks Major Victory for Taxpayers’ Privacy

Washington D.C. – A federal court has blocked the Trump-Vance Administration’s unprecedented efforts to skirt federal privacy laws that protected taxpayers’ sensitive information. The court’s stay will prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from sharing data on millions of taxpayers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The order comes in a case brought by a coalition of small businesses, a low-income tax clinic, and two unions represented by Democracy Forward, which filed an emergency motion to challenge IRS’s dangerous data sharing. 

In an order issued today, the court found that the disclosures of taxpayer address information by IRS to ICE were likely unlawful, which expanded an earlier order that had temporarily prevented confidential taxpayer data from being shared by the IRS with ICE without giving the court and plaintiffs 24 hours advance notice so that either could take further action. The new court order found that there was imminent risk that taxpayer address information would be impermissibly used for immigration enforcement.

The organizations working to defend privacy in Center for Taxpayer Rights et al. v Internal Revenue Service et al include the Center for Taxpayer Rights, Main Street Alliance, Communications Workers of America, and the National Federation of Federal Employees. 

“This is an important win for millions of people in America whose information has been threatened by the Trump-Vance administration, and represents the first injunction against this unlawful data sharing. The privacy laws enacted in the post-Watergate era exist to prevent abuses of power like this and yet leaders in the IRS and ICE launched this effort,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Paying your taxes does not forfeit your right to privacy. Democracy Forward is honored to represent this expansive coalition of brave plaintiffs holding the administration accountable and protecting the privacy of millions of Americans.”

The legal team at Democracy Forward on this case includes Daniel A. McGrath, Maddy Gitomer, Johanna M. Hickman, Robin F. Thurston, Steven Y. Bressler, and Skye L. Perryman.

The court’s opinion can be found here, and the order can be found here. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.