“When Individuals file their tax returns, they anticipate their private information and tax info are confidential,” Smith mentioned in an announcement.
However between 2017 and 2021, Littlejohn “stole taxpayer info, and he stole numerous it,” Smith mentioned. “He gave it to The New York Occasions and ProPublica, who revealed articles containing that confidential tax details about President Trump and different notable figures. Mr. Littlejohn then destroyed proof and obstructed regulation enforcement investigations.”
These notable figures included billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. ProPublica used the info to report on tax avoidance strategies utilized by the ultra-wealthy, corresponding to Thiel’s use of a Roth IRA to develop shares of a nascent startup right into a tax-free multibillion-dollar retirement haul.
Present regulation “failed to discourage Mr. Littlejohn from stealing and leaking non-public and delicate taxpayer info,” Smith mentioned.
Furthermore, Smith continued, “the Division of Justice solely charged Mr. Littlejohn with a single rely of unauthorized disclosure of personal tax info. Growing the punishment for this crime will end in higher deterrence for potential criminals, and fewer crimes of this type being dedicated.”
The invoice has 25 co-sponsors, all Republicans.