 |
|
|
|||||
Reports that Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is seeking access to a guarded Internal Revenue Service (IRS) system has raised alarm bells in Washington and across the nation. Lawmakers and taxpayers say theyre worried about the potential privacy implications of a department run by the worlds richest man having access to extremely sensitive personal and financial information. While no IRS access has yet been granted or even officially requested, DOGE is already looking into the recesses of several government divisions and expected to broadly widen its scope in the coming weeks. And now a DOGE team member is reportedly close to gaining access to taxpayer data. The Washington Post reports that the IRS is under pressure from the White House to give DOGE officials access to its systems and databases, including one that would allow them to access IRS accounts and bank information. This comes in the midst of the 2025 tax season, when Americans are in the process of filing their taxes and awaiting refunds. Why is DOGE looking at the IRS? The official primary reason being given, per a memorandum obtained by the Post, is for modernization of IRS systems and engineering assistance. The DOGE software engineer who will be working there is reportedly set to spend 120 days at the tax service. One idea the department has floated in the past was launching a mobile app letting people file their taxes. Few, if any, are disputing that the IRS systems are in need of an overhaul. Many were built in the 1960s. Its the access to Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) thats especially unusual. (Even security clearance does not give individuals access to it.) Will Elon Musk and his team have access to my tax records? Musk, personally, wont have access, assuming integration follows the outline in the memorandum. Instead, a single DOGE staffer, software engineer Gavin Kliger, will reportedly work at the IRS and have access to IDRS, which reports say could give him and the Musk-run department access to social security numbers, bank information, and more. What safeguards are being put into place to protect my privacy? Kliger would be required to maintain the confidentiality of the tax return information he sees and is required to destroy it when he has finished his work at the IRS. Hes also required to not share any of that information with people who do not have access to IDRS. Not everyone follows that agreement, of course. An IRS contractor named Charles Littlejohn is currently serving a five-year felony sentence for leaking the tax information of Trump, Musk, and others in 2021. Could DOGE seeking access to the IRS system affect how long it takes to get my refund? Thats uncertain. While the IRS has not extended its estimated timeline for refunds (which stands at up to 21 days for e-filed returns and 4 weeks or more for returns sent by mail), any changes to the IRS in the middle of tax season could cause a disruption. DOGEs plan to update systems isnt the only potentially disrupting action the Trump administration has taken with the IRS. Thousands of probationary workers (recent hires or someone who has moved or been promoted into a new position) are expected to be laid off, and it’s unclear if that will slow down the processing of returns. (IRS workers were not given the option to accept a recent buyout offer extended to federal workers.) At least one Democratic Senator is warning refund delays could happen, though. NEW: My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk's henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America. And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason.— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 13, 2025 Does this impact my chances of getting audited? This, too, is unclear. The Biden Administration invested heavily in the IRS, with plans to hire tens of thousands of IRS workers to help with both customer service and enforcement. That investment came with the caveat that the funding, from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, would not be used to increase audits of people making $400,000 or less per year. The IRS has made limited progress with complying with that, however. Its unclear if a reduction at the IRS could squeeze resources at the tax agency and reduce its ability to audit corporations and individuals. Is it legal for DOGE to look through IRS records? The courts will have to ultimately decide that. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, says DOGEs actions are illegal and a blatant power grab. And Attorneys General from 14 states, on Thursday, filed a lawsuit in federal court to challenge DOGEs plans, saying Musk and the Departments actions can only be taken by someone who has been approved by the Senate.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Trump administrations effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices, and other products were fired. Probationary employees across the FDA received notices Saturday evening that their jobs were being eliminated, according to three FDA staffers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The total number of positions eliminated was not clear Sunday, but the firings appeared to focus on employees in the agencys centers for food, medical devices, and tobacco productswhich includes oversight of electronic cigarettes. It was not clear whether FDA employees who review drugs were exempted. On Friday, some officials expected the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fire 5,200 probationary employees across its agencies, according to an audio recording of a National Institutes of Health department meeting. HHS oversees NIH, FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among other things. People who spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity on Friday said the number of probationary employees to be laid off at the CDC would total nearly 1,300. But as of early Sunday afternoon, about 700 people had received notices, according to three people who spoke on condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. They said none of the CDC layoffs affected the young doctors and researchers who track diseases in whats known as the Epidemic Intelligence Service. The FDA is headquartered in the Maryland suburbs outside Washington and employs nearly 20,000 people. It’s long been a target of newly sworn-in health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who last year accused the agency of waging a war on public health for not approving unproven treatments such as psychedelics, stem cells and chelation therapy. Kennedy also has called for eliminating thousands of chemicals and colorings from U.S. foods. But the cuts at FDA include staffers responsible for reviewing the safety of new food additives and ingredients, according to an FDA staffer familiar with the firings. An HHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon. Nearly half of the FDAs $6.9 billion budget comes from fees paid by companies the agency regulates, including drug and medical device makers, which allows the agency to hire extra scientists to swiftly review products. Eliminating those positions will not reduce government spending. A former FDA official said cutting recent hires could backfire, eliminating staffers who tend to be younger and have more up-to-date technical skills. The FDAs workforce skews toward older workers who have spent one or two decades at the agency, and the Government Accountability Office noted in 2022 that the FDA has historically faced challenges in recruiting and retaining staff due to better money in the private sector. You want to bring in new blood, said Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner under President George W. Bush. You want people with new ideas, greater enthusiasm and the latest thinking in terms of technology. Mitch Zeller, former FDA director for tobacco, said the firings are a way to demoralize and undermine the spirit of the federal workforce. The combined effect of what they’re trying to do is going to destroy the ability to recruit and retain talent,” Zeller said. The FDAs inspection force has been particularly strained in recent years after a wave of departures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of the agencys current inspectors are recent hires. It was not immediately clear whether those employees were exempted. FDA inspectors are responsible for overseeing thousands of food, drug, tobacco and medical device facilities worldwide, though the AP reported last year that the agency faced a backlog of roughly 2,000 uninspected drug facilities that hadnt been visited since before the pandemic. The agency’s inspection force have also been criticized for not moving faster to catch recent problems involving infant formula, baby food and eyedrops. By Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer. AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Category:
E-Commerce
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in North Carolina rejected a proposal to unionize, becoming the latest group of the companys employees to side against union representation. About three-quarters of employees at an Amazon fulfillment center in Garner, a town located near Raleigh, voted against joining a grassroots labor organization called Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, the National Labor Relations Board announced Saturday. The federal labor agency said 2,447 workers cast ballots against union representation while 829 voted in favor of joining the independent union, which is made up of former and current Amazon workers. The NLRB had said 4,300 Amazon workers were eligible to cast ballots in the election, which took place Monday through Saturday. Rev. Ryan Brown, a former Amazon worker who cofounded the group, said Saturday, We had already braced ourselves for a loss. We knew that historically the tide was against us to have a win for several reasons, Brown said. One, were in the South. Two, the average worker thats in North Carolina knows nothing about a union and the benefits of a union and what a union could do for them. The outcome came just weeks after workers at a Whole Foods Market store in Pennsylvania voted to unionize, leading to the first successful entry of organized labor into the grocery chain, which Amazon owns. Following the union win, Whole Foods asked the NLRB to toss out the election results, arguing the voting process was tainted. In 2022, workers at an Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island unionized with Amazon Labor Union, which joined forces with the Teamsters last year. However, Amazon has objected to the election result and refused to negotiate over a contract. At the same time, the company has also been able to successfully fend off union victories at a second warehouse on Staten Island, as well as at facilities near Albany, New York, and in Bessemer, Alabama. In November, an NLRB administrative law judge ordered a third union election for Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer after determining that the company committed six violations leading up to a rerun election in March 2022. That rerun was held after the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is seeking to represent Amazon workers in Bessemer, filed objections to the first election, which results in a union loss. Workers affiliated with Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, or CAUSE, have been organizing at the North Carolina warehouse since January 2022. Cofounder Brown said in an interview last month he started organizing because he felt like Amazon was not providing workers adequate protections against COVID-19. The company said Saturday that Amazon already offers what many unions are requesting, such as safe and inclusive workplaces and competitive pay. Were glad that our team in Garner was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep a direct relationship with Amazon,” Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said in a written statement.By Haleluya Hadero and Matt O’Brien, AP Business Writers
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||