For Immediate Release: Thursday, July 13, 2023
Contact: Office of Communications, Communications@MyFloridaCFO.com, 850.413.2842

CFO Jimmy Patronis Launches the Florida IRS Transparency Portal

~ Makes Announcement at Roundtable Event Focusing on IRS Harassment ~

ORLANDO, Fla. – Today, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced the launch of the Florida IRS Transparency Portal. The online portal was created for individuals, private businesses, or non-profits to report evidence of discrimination by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) operatives and will help Florida identify patterns of discrimination where specific IRS agents are targeting certain political causes, practices, or beliefs. Florida residents and businesses can report harassment by IRS agents by visiting www.myfloridacfo.com/irs-activity/. The CFO made the announcement in Orlando at Ally Building Solutions during a roundtable discussion regarding the IRS’s harassment of taxpayers and their shakedown of Florida.  

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “This morning, we deployed the Florida IRS Transparency Portal where Floridians can submit complaints about individual IRS agents. We will take this information to look for patterns on how the IRS is targeting Floridians, which will help us craft laws to protect our businesses. We also want to provide the public with a tool where they can report harassment by the IRS. I’ve always felt that transparency is the best disinfectant, and if there’s an IRS agent who’s bullying a Florida resident, I want to know about it. We will also provide reports to members of Congress who help oversee the IRS. With this information they’ll have better insight into how the IRS targets families and small businesses, so they’re more effective at reining an agency that Biden is hell-bent on leveraging as his own political operation. This information will be reported to Congressional committees who oversee the tax agency so further action can be taken to keep the IRS in check. If you feel you have been targeted by the IRS, I encourage you to report it immediately to the Florida IRS Transparency Portal.”

At the roundtable the CFO also discussed how the Biden Administration is supercharging the IRS because Washington is continuing to run deficit spending with no end in sight.

CFO Patronis said, “It should be no surprise that Washington has an insatiable appetite for taxpayer money. The federal government is running a deficit, so every $3.00 in revenue the IRS takes in – $4.00 goes out the door. That’s deficit spending in a nutshell and it is not sustainable. Additionally, Biden’s inflation crisis has worsened the balance sheet. Now they’re raising interest rates to combat inflation which is cooling the economy. The result: the Congressional Budget Office said they’re $250 billion short from their predictions. The White House has no interest in reining in spending, so to pay for all these programs they need the IRS to collect more cash from Americans. So, make no mistake about it: the IRS is going to follow the money – and the money is flowing to the Sunshine State because we treat businesses with respect. No doubt, the IRS is going to target Florida where the fishing is good. Florida believes in freedom, and that infuriates Washington, it infuriates the Deep State, and it drives Joe Biden crazy.”

At the IRS roundtable, Donna Barrett who lives in Southwest Florida provided her testimony on an IRS agent who began harassing her organization.

According to Barrett, she was at work “talking shop” when out of nowhere someone was knocking on the door. It was an IRS agent. He came in and showed his badge saying that he was, “In the neighborhood” and that certain forms of her employer had not been turned into the IRS and he wanted to see if he could pick up copies. Barrett said if she would have received notice via email or mail, she would have mailed them into the IRS. The IRS agent explained that he was in the area doing “drop ins” because people are behind on their taxes, and he was instructed to visit the companies and see if they had valuables onsite.

The CFO also discussed the political weaponization of the IRS against the Deep State’s political targets.

The CFO continued, “The second threat comes in the form of something a little more insidious: the weaponization of certain federal agencies against Americans. We all know about how the Tea Party was targeted by the IRS in 2013. They targeted Tea Party groups, demanded unnecessary and sensitive information – like donor information – and dragged their feet on approving their non-profit status. The IRS was forced to apologize for it, but I’m afraid they’re up to their old tricks again. The IRS is going after American citizens through intimidation tactics because of their politics. For example, there is the high-profile case of journalist Matt Taibbi.”

At the roundtable the CFO detailed the case of journalist Matt Taibbi who was targeted by the IRS.

The Left-Wing journalist had spent his entire career going after Wall Street, going after George Bush, and going after other Conservatives. For years he was revered by the Left. That was until, however, Taibbi exposed the federal government’s collusion with Big Tech as part of the “Twitter Files” series. Taibbi exposed how the FBI would receive “content recommendations” from various federal agencies – and those topics included Burisma, Ukraine, and Biden. The FBI would then sit with companies like Twitter, Facebook, and so forth as part of their “Foreign Influence Taskforce.” Taibbi would later go on to testify before Congress – where coincidently his home in New Jersey was visited by the IRS on the same day he was presenting before committee. The IRS had opened an investigation on the journalist at the same time Taibbi was working on the Twitter Files. Records indicate the IRS used a host of research technologies to look into his voting records, whether he possessed a gun, and his telephone numbers.

The CFO said, “One thing that Donna Barrett and Matt Taibbi both have in common is that they’re not related to Joe Biden. This isn’t a red issue or a blue issue. The IRS is targeting people who threaten the Deep State and threaten Joe Biden. While the IRS has no problem going after Conservative Tea Party Groups, liberal journalists who expose federal corruption, or normal taxpayers, their hands are tied when it comes to investigating the President’s son.”

Senator Blaise Ingoglia said, “It’s no secret that Washington has weaponized the IRS against Americans. As we saw with the pandemic, bloated federal bureaucrats were given unfettered power to impose their will on Floridians until our Governor said enough is enough. The thought of 87,000 more IRS agents is terrifying and in Florida, we will arm our small businesses with the tools they need to fight back if targeted due to political affiliation or ideological differences. I appreciate CFO Patronis’ leadership on this issue and hosting this roundtable to bring some transparency to IRS activity.”

Senator Tom Wright said, “Thank you to CFO Jimmy Patronis for having me today to participate in this important dialogue regarding the IRS’s overreach. As a Senator, I am committed to doing everything in my power to protect Floridians and protect our job creators and fight back against any attempt to target businesses because of their beliefs. I’m happy to support CFO Patronis and I encourage all Floridians to report any issues they encounter from the IRS so that they can be held accountable to the citizens they have a duty to serve.”

Representative Toby Overdorf said, “No one ever asked for more IRS agents to shake down Floridians. If just a few of these 87,000 new agents go rogue, and they will, Florida will be the first place they look due to our incredible economic success and freedom first policies. I’m thankful to CFO Patronis for leading the fight against IRS overreach in our state. Florida will not stand by and let Washington take advantage of our taxpayers to fund their next mammoth spending project.”

Tim Nungesser, National Federation of Independent Business said, “I am proud to stand with CFO Patronis in his fight against the IRS. Washington seems to think that while citizens are faced with high inflation, the thing that they need now is more IRS agents. I am so happy to see that we have leadership in Florida that is working to keeping Florida free. The NFIB stands with CFO Patronis in his pursuit of transparency and accountability to protect businesses through the state of Florida.”

James Madison Institute President Dr. Robert McClure said, “Instead of working to rein in spending to pay down the deficit, Washington is attempting to shake down Floridians by empowering the IRS. Distrust of our federal government is at an all-time high, and this only adds more gas to the fire. I’m glad to support CFO Patronis in his efforts to create transparency and hold our federal government accountable to the states. Left unchecked, the administrative state will do anything to subvert democracy and cash checks on the backs of hard-working Florida taxpayers.”

Donna Barrett, Executive Director, Charlotte/DeSoto Building Industry Association said, “A few weeks ago, out of nowhere, an IRS agent showed up unannounced. It was terrifying to be in that situation and to feel like you don’t have any control over what’s about to happen. No Floridian should ever have to deal with this. I would like to thank the CFO for having me participate in today’s roundtable and get my story out there and for his hard work on this important issue. I know if this happened to me, there’s more Floridians who are being targeted by the IRS’ overreach. We must do all we can to protect our job creators and fight back against any attempt to target businesses because of their beliefs. We need more leaders who are willing to go to battle for Floridians and protect their hard-earned money.”

Lee Steinhauer, Greater Orlando Builders Association said, “Floridians have worked tirelessly to build a state they are proud of, where families and businesses can prosper and carve out their piece of the American Dream. We cannot let targeting by the IRS limit the opportunities created through homeownership in our state. We are proud to stand today with CFO Patronis and the IRS Roundtable to help protect Floridians from federal overreach.”

Brian Hill, Owner of Brian's BBQ said, “The Sunshine State is a beacon of freedom and prosperity and the last thing we need is federal agencies using their power to stifle our economy. Even in the face of a historic pandemic, Florida stood tall and protected our hospitality industry while other states shuddered their doors. Now the federal government wants to use that success to pay for the bad policies of others. I am proud to support CFO Patronis in his mission to protect Florida’s small businesses from IRS overreach.”

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About CFO Jimmy Patronis 
Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is a statewide elected official and a member of Florida’s Cabinet who oversees the Department of Financial Services. CFO Patronis works each day to fight insurance fraud, support Florida’s firefighters, and ensure the state’s finances are stable to support economic growth in the state. Follow the activities of the Department on Facebook (FLDFS) and Twitter (@FLDFS).