The Intersection of U.S. Federal Tax Law with Collection of International Information – Including other Federal Agencies

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For decades, the IRS largely worked in a vacuum, relative to other government agencies.

Changes started in earnest in 2003 after September 11, 2001, when Congress past various anti-terrorism laws.  For details of the history and how and when the IRS became responsible for these functions, the IRS Internal Passport Inside Back Page - USC Taxation ReferenceRevenue Manual has a detailed explanation – Part 4, Chapter 26, Section 5. Bank Secrecy Act History and Law

In April 2003, the IRS became in charge of civil enforcement of foreign account information under Title 31.  See IRM, Part 4, Chapter 26, Section 16. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

The world has changed dramatically in these past few years and the IRS no longer works in such  a vacuum.  For a history of foreign bank and Congressional influences, see, How Congressional Hearings (Particularly In the Senate) Drive IRS and Justice Department Behavior

Today there are a host of governmental inter-agency activities along with foreign government exchanges of information;  e.g., DHS, Department of State, ICE, USCIS, foreign government exchanges of information under FATCA IGAs, a plethora of federal “intelligence agencies” for “terrorism related requests” as identified in IRM pursuant to IRC Section 6103(i), foreign governments under tax treaty exchanges, among many others.

The law is not even clear as to which agencies qualify as “intelligence agencies” as they are not identified in the statute and many are presumably classified organizations.

  • Who is an “intelligence agency” for purposes of the statute?

The following is a list of some of the intelligence agencies that are presumably included in the federal tax statute Section 6103(i)(7):

National

United States Intelligence Community
Director of National Intelligence
National Intelligence Council [NIC]
National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC)
National Counterintelligence Executive [NCIX]
Official
Official
Official
Official
Official
Central Intelligence Agency Official
National Security Agency Official
National Reconnaissance Office Official
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Official
Defense Intelligence Agency Official
Federal Bureau of Investigation Official
Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis Official

Other Defense Department

Assistant to the Secretary for Intelligence Oversight Official
Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Official
Official
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration Official
Defense Information Systems Agency Official
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Official
Defense Protective Service Official
Defense Security Service Official
US Special Operations Command Official
Army
Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence
Intelligence and Security Command
Official
Official
Official
Navy
Office of Naval Intelligence
Naval Security Group Command
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Official
Official
Official
Official
Marine Corps Official
Air Force
Air Force Technical Applications Center
Air Intelligence Agency
Official
Official
Official

Other Federal Agencies

National Security Council
President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Official
Official
Official
Energy Department
Office of Intelligence
Official
Official
Justice Department
Justice Intelligence Coordinating Council
OIG – Office of the Inspector General
DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration
NDIC – National Drug Intelligence Center
USNCB – U.S. National Central Bureau
Official
Official
Official
Official
Official
Official
Official
State Department
INR – Bureau of Intelligence & Research
INL – Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
CT – Counterterrorism Office
DS – Bureau of Diplomatic Security
Official
Official
Official
Official
Official
Treasury Department
Office of Intelligence Support
Office of the Under Secretary (Enforcement)
FINCEN – Financial Crimes Enforcement
FLETC – Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Official
Official
Official
Official
Official
National Archives and Records Administration
Information Security Oversight Office
Official
Official

A less secret organization is the Social Security Administration which now increasingly intersect with the work of

Passport Inside Back Page - USC Taxation Referencethe IRS.  Also, the Department of State now provides warnings on its Passport applications about tax consequences and requirements of social security numbers (“SSN”s).

See also how in an Application for a U.S. Passport there are now specifically references IRC Section 6039E.

Finally, see also how on the last page (page 28) of currently issued U.S. Passport (“Book“) and paragraph D that explains generally the taxation obligations of citizenship.

2 thoughts on “The Intersection of U.S. Federal Tax Law with Collection of International Information – Including other Federal Agencies

    SwissTechie said:
    May 26, 2015 at 12:31 am

    It would also be good to intersect HUD with the collection of International Information. This would help the US to avoid causing Americans living abroad to be discriminated against due to US policy, or enable Americans abroad who cannot refinance due to US law to receive HUD assistance. But, helping, supporting and defending Americans living abroad has never been the interest of the US government.

    bubblebustin said:
    May 26, 2015 at 3:15 am

    It’s pretty obvious that the info concerning taxes on the passport application and the passport itself is directed at non-resident Americans specifically, yet if they were serious about informing people they’d start enforcing the law that requires USC’s to enter and exit on a U.S. passport.

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