The IRS has scored a win at the U.S. Supreme Court. Thursday, the court released its ruling in Polselli v. IRS, involving whether the agency can access bank records of a taxpayer’s relatives or associates — without notice — to help with tax collection efforts. The Supreme Court’s answer is yes. Under an existing statute, the IRS can secretly probe your bank records and potentially your relatives’ bank records without notice.
“The question presented is whether the exception to the notice requirement applies only where a delinquent taxpayer has a legal interest in accounts or records summoned by the IRS under Section 7602(a). A straightforward reading of the statutory text supplies a ready answer: The notice exception does not contain such a limitation,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the unanimous opinion.
