,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bie ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #ae1 #bjac ,mr4 ,nugent introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to prevent identity theft and tax fraud1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protect and ,save ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,authority to disclose return and return information in ,federal and ,state prosecution law enforcement 7a7 ,in general ,subsection 7k7 of section #fajc of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#aa7 ,disclosure of certain return information in connection with identity theft and fraudulent returns 7,a7 ,in general ,in the case of an investigation pertaining to the misuse of the identity of another person for purposes of filing a false or fraudulent return of tax1 upon receipt of a written request which meets the requirements of subparagraph 7,c71 the ,secretary may disclose return information to officers and employees of any ,federal law enforcement agency1 or any officers and employees of any ,state or local law enforcement agency1 who are personally and directly engaged in the investigation of any crimes implicated in such misuse1 but only if any such law enforcement agency is part of a team with the ,internal ,revenue ,service in such investigation4 7,b7 ,limitation on use of information ,information disclosed under this subparagraph shall be solely for the use of such officers and employees to whom such information is disclosed in such investigation4 7,c7 ,requirements ,a request meets the requirements of this clause if-- 7i7 the request is made by the head of the agency 7or his delegate7 involved in such investigation1 and 7ii7 the request sets forth the specific reason why such disclosure may be relevant to the investigation4 7,d7 ,notification ,the ,secretary shall determine whether or not to grant the disclosure request described in subparagraph 7,a7 and notify the petitioning law enforcement agency within #cj days of receiving the request4 ,this determination shall be expedited in instances where the crimes of murder1 murder for hire1 or arson are involved as certified by the requesting agency's head4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,paragraph 7#b7 of section #fajc7;a7 of such ,code is amended by inserting or 7k77#aa7 after subsection 7i77#g77;,a74 7#b7 ,paragraph 7#d7 of section #fajc7p7 of such ,code is amended-- 7,a7 in the matter preceding subparagraph 7,a7 by inserting or 7#aa7 after 7k77#aj71 and 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,f77ii7 by striking or 7#aj7 and inserting 7#aj7 or 7#aa74 7#c7 ,paragraph 7#b7 of section #gbac7;a7 of such ,code is amended by inserting 7k77#aa71 after 7#g77;,a77ii714 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by subsection 7a7 shall apply to disclosures made after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7d7 ,rule of ,construction ,nothing in section #fajc of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf may be construed to prohibit ,federal law enforcement officials from coordinating with ,state and local law enforcement agencies already investigating related crimes4 #c4 ,local law enforcement liaison ,section #ghjc of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7e7 ,local ,law ,enforcement ,liaison 7#a7 ,establishment ,the ,commissioner of ,internal ,revenue shall establish within the ,criminal ,investigation ,division of the ,internal ,revenue ,service the position of ,local ,law ,enforcement ,liaison4 7#b7 ,duties ,the ,local ,law ,enforcement ,liaison shall-- 7,a7 coordinate the investigation of tax fraud with ,state and local law enforcement agencies1 7,b7 communicate the status of tax fraud cases involving identity theft1 and 7,c7 carry out such other duties as delegated by the ,commissioner of ,internal ,revenue4 4 #d4 ,,pin system for prevention of identity theft tax fraud 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall implement an identify theft tax fraud prevention program under which-- 7#a7 a person who has filed an identity theft affidavit with the ,secretary may elect-- 7,a7 to be provided with a unique personal identification number to be included on any ,federal tax return filed by such person1 or 7,b7 to prevent the processing of any ,federal tax return submitted in an electronic format by a person purporting to be such person1 and 7#b7 the ,secretary will provide additional identity verification safeguards for the processing of any ,federal tax return filed by a person described in paragraph 7#a7 in cases where a unique personal identification number is not included on the return4 #e4 ,study on the use of prepaid debit cards and commercial tax preparation software in tax fraud 7a7 ,in general ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall conduct a study to examine the role of prepaid debit cards and commercial tax preparation software in facilitating fraudulent tax returns through identity theft4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives a report with the results of the study conducted under subsection 7a71 together with any recommendations4 #f4 ,study on the use of e-filing in tax fraud 7a7 ,in general ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall conduct a study to examine the role filing tax returns electronically 7e-filing7 and electronic tax returns play in either facilitating or preventing fraudulent tax returns through identity theft4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives a report with the results of the study conducted under subsection 7a71 together with any recommendations4 #g4 ,restriction on access to the ,death ,master ,file 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,commerce shall not disclose information contained on the ,death ,master ,file to any person with respect to any individual who has died at any time during the previous two calendar years in which the request for disclosure is made or the succeeding calendar year unless such person is certified under the program established under subsection 7b74 7b7 ,certification program 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,commerce shall establish a program to certify persons who are eligible to access the information described in subsection 7a7 contained on the ,death ,master ,file4 7#b7 ,certification ,a person shall not be certified under the program established under paragraph 7#a7 unless the ,secretary determines that such person has a legitimate fraud prevention interest in accessing the information described in subsection 7a74 7c7 ,imposition of penalty ,any person who is certified under the program established under subsection 7b71 who receives information described in subsection 7a71 and who during the period of time described in subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 discloses such information to any other person1 or 7#b7 uses any such information for any purpose other than to detect or prevent fraud1 shall pay a penalty of #a1jjj for each such disclosure or use1 but the total amount imposed under this subsection on such a person for any calendar year shall not exceed #ej1jjj4 7d7 ,exemption from ,freedom of ,information ,act requirement with respect to certain records of deceased individuals 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,social ,security ,administration shall not be compelled to disclose to any person who is not certified under the program established under subsection 7b7 the information described in subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,treatment of information ,for purposes of section #eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 this section shall be considered a statute described in subsection 7b77#c77;,b7 of such section #eeb4 #h4 ,extension of authority to disclose certain return information to prison officials 7a7 ,in general ,section #fajc7k77#aj7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking subparagraph 7,d74 7b7 ,report from ,federal ,bureau of ,prisons ,not later than #f months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the head of the ,federal ,bureau of ,prisons shall submit to ,congress a detailed plan on how it will use the information provided from the ,secretary of the ,treasury under section #fajc7k77#aj7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to reduce prison tax fraud4 7c7 ,sense of ,house regarding ,state prison authorities ,it is the sense of the ,house that the heads of ,state agencies charged with the administration of prisons should-- 7#a7 develop plans for using the information provided by the ,secretary of the ,treasury under section #fajc7k77#aj7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to reduce prison tax fraud1 and 7#b7 coordinate with the ,internal ,revenue ,service with respect to the use of such information4 #i4 ,treasury report on information sharing barriers with respect to identity theft 7a7 ,review 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall review whether current ,federal tax laws and regulations related to the confidentiality and disclosure of return information prevent the effective enforcement of local1 ,state1 and ,federal identity theft statutes4 ,the review shall consider whether greater information sharing between the ,internal ,revenue ,service and ,federal1 ,state and local law enforcement authorities would improve the enforcement of criminal laws at all levels of government4 7#b7 ,consultation ,in conducting the review under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall solicit the views of1 and consult with1 ,state and local law enforcement officials4 ,among the ,federal agencies the ,secretary shall consult in conducting the review are the following3 7,a7 ,the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs4 7,b7 ,the ,department of ,justice4 7,c7 ,the ,united ,states ,postal ,inspection ,service4 7,d7 ,the ,social ,security ,administration4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit a report with the results of the review conducted under subsection 7a71 along with any legislative recommendations1 to the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives4