'Five alarm warning': Concerns over potential DOGE access to private taxpayer information trigger outcry
The initiative led by Elon Musk aims to examine a system that encompasses tax returns, Social Security numbers, and additional data.
TroibNews 
Democrats and tax experts are raising concerns over a plan by Elon Musk’s DOGE team to obtain access to an IRS system that holds detailed financial information about millions of taxpayers, including their tax returns.
“This is a five-alarm warning,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS, said in a post on X. He described the move as an “illegal and blatant power grab.”
Sens. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, and Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, have also criticized the proposed deal, which arrives as individuals are in the midst of filing their taxes.
In a letter sent Monday to IRS Acting Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell, the lawmakers expressed “serious concerns that Elon Musk and his associates are seeking to weaponize government databases containing private bank records and other confidential information to target American citizens and businesses as part of a political agenda.”
According to a White House official, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency is looking to access the expansive IRS database known as the Integrated Data Retrieval System. This matter was initially reported by the Washington Post.
A White House official stated that one individual associated with DOGE and one IRS employee would be involved in the project.
The data in question is tightly controlled, and unauthorized access is considered a felony. Years ago, some of Musk's federal tax payment history and that of former President Donald Trump were leaked.
The proposed agreement between DOGE and the IRS would mandate that the individual with access keep tax return information confidential and destroy any shared information afterward, as reported by the Post.
“I’m unaware of any instance of political appointees at Treasury or the IRS having access to this database,” Lily Batchelder, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for tax administration in the Biden administration, wrote on X. “I didn’t and the political appointees on my team did not.”
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields defended the initiative, stating, “Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it.”
The IRS sometimes allows access to sensitive taxpayer information to non-agency employees, including contractors and other federal and state government entities, all of whom are governed by stringent privacy regulations that treat unauthorized disclosures of personal information as a felony.
This issue gained attention recently when IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was found leaking tax information about Trump and numerous other wealthy individuals to the media.
ProPublica reported in 2021 that Musk paid $455 million in federal taxes from 2014 to 2018, based on a reported income of $1.52 billion, according to leaked information.
Littlejohn received a five-year prison sentence. Republicans harshly criticized the IRS for its failure to protect the data, arguing that Littlejohn deserved a harsher punishment.
In their letter to O'Donnell, Wyden and Warren questioned whether the DOGE team member would have the legal standing to access the data.
“To date, no information on DOGE employees or any others executing orders on Musk’s behalf have revealed any clear, stated purpose as to why they need access to return information, whether they have followed all required laws to gain access to IRS systems, and what steps the IRS has taken to ensure that inspection of tax return is contained to authorized personnel and not disclosed to any unauthorized parties,” they wrote.
This unprecedented request comes as tax professionals are already anxious about DOGE's possible intentions regarding the IRS during the current tax-filing season, which commenced last month and is compounded by impending layoffs.
“IRS service levels and modernization efforts have seen progress since the COVID-19 pandemic and we are committed to seeing those efforts continue,” said Mark Koziel, the head of the American Institute of CPA’s, in a statement on Sunday, prior to the revelation of the DOGE initiative.
“Americans deserve a fully functioning agency that can be respected by taxpayers and their preparers, thereby allowing them to comply with their tax obligations,” he added.
Brian Faler contributed to this report.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
“This is a five-alarm warning,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees the IRS, said in a post on X. He described the move as an “illegal and blatant power grab.”
Sens. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, and Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, have also criticized the proposed deal, which arrives as individuals are in the midst of filing their taxes.
In a letter sent Monday to IRS Acting Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell, the lawmakers expressed “serious concerns that Elon Musk and his associates are seeking to weaponize government databases containing private bank records and other confidential information to target American citizens and businesses as part of a political agenda.”
According to a White House official, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency is looking to access the expansive IRS database known as the Integrated Data Retrieval System. This matter was initially reported by the Washington Post.
A White House official stated that one individual associated with DOGE and one IRS employee would be involved in the project.
The data in question is tightly controlled, and unauthorized access is considered a felony. Years ago, some of Musk's federal tax payment history and that of former President Donald Trump were leaked.
The proposed agreement between DOGE and the IRS would mandate that the individual with access keep tax return information confidential and destroy any shared information afterward, as reported by the Post.
“I’m unaware of any instance of political appointees at Treasury or the IRS having access to this database,” Lily Batchelder, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for tax administration in the Biden administration, wrote on X. “I didn’t and the political appointees on my team did not.”
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields defended the initiative, stating, “Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it.”
The IRS sometimes allows access to sensitive taxpayer information to non-agency employees, including contractors and other federal and state government entities, all of whom are governed by stringent privacy regulations that treat unauthorized disclosures of personal information as a felony.
This issue gained attention recently when IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was found leaking tax information about Trump and numerous other wealthy individuals to the media.
ProPublica reported in 2021 that Musk paid $455 million in federal taxes from 2014 to 2018, based on a reported income of $1.52 billion, according to leaked information.
Littlejohn received a five-year prison sentence. Republicans harshly criticized the IRS for its failure to protect the data, arguing that Littlejohn deserved a harsher punishment.
In their letter to O'Donnell, Wyden and Warren questioned whether the DOGE team member would have the legal standing to access the data.
“To date, no information on DOGE employees or any others executing orders on Musk’s behalf have revealed any clear, stated purpose as to why they need access to return information, whether they have followed all required laws to gain access to IRS systems, and what steps the IRS has taken to ensure that inspection of tax return is contained to authorized personnel and not disclosed to any unauthorized parties,” they wrote.
This unprecedented request comes as tax professionals are already anxious about DOGE's possible intentions regarding the IRS during the current tax-filing season, which commenced last month and is compounded by impending layoffs.
“IRS service levels and modernization efforts have seen progress since the COVID-19 pandemic and we are committed to seeing those efforts continue,” said Mark Koziel, the head of the American Institute of CPA’s, in a statement on Sunday, prior to the revelation of the DOGE initiative.
“Americans deserve a fully functioning agency that can be respected by taxpayers and their preparers, thereby allowing them to comply with their tax obligations,” he added.
Brian Faler contributed to this report.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
