US lawmakers push DoJ to prosecute tax prep firms for leaking taxpayer data to big tech

Senators and a representative urged the DOJ to prosecute tax-preparation companies after a Treasury Inspector General report and earlier investigations found that several providers transmitted taxpayers' sensitive information (income, refund amounts, filing status, deductions) to third parties like Google and Meta using tracking pixels, without clearly disclosing recipients or purposes; lawmakers assert these disclosures may violate tax privacy laws and warrant criminal enforcement.