Taxpayer Confidentiality: Federal, State, and Local Agencies Receiving Taxpayer Information

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the disclosure practices and safeguards employed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to protect taxpayer information, focusing on: (1) which federal, state, and local agencies receive taxpayer information from IRS; (2) what type of information they receive; (3) how the taxpayer information is being used; (4) what policies and procedures the agencies are required to follow to safeguard taxpayer information; (5) how frequently IRS is to monitor agencies' adherence to the safeguarding requirements; and (6) the results of IRS' most recent monitoring efforts.