IRS Flaws Expose Taxpayers to Snooping, Study Finds

Information on tax returns could expose millions of taxpayers to potential identity theft or illegal police snooping, according to a new congressional report.

The Internal Revenue Service also is unlikely to know if outsiders are browsing through citizens' tax returns because barriers between tax returns and money-laundering reports don't exist, the GAO found. Thus a police officer checking up on money-laundering reports can also read personal tax returns, in violation of federal law.