Treasury Official Defends Oft-Criticized Bank Reporting Plan

A Treasury Department official pushed back against critics of a plan to require financial institutions to give more data to the IRS, arguing that opponents are purposely misleading the public about what the proposal would do.

Republicans and the banking industry have been critical of the proposal, arguing that it would be give the IRS too much information about the finances of most Americans.

Natasha Sarin, deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at Treasury, on Tuesday defended the data reporting plan as a way to better target wealthy individuals who are underpaying taxes on income the IRS has ...