~Urges Parents Targeted by the IRS to Report Abuses to the Florida IRS Transparency Portal~

DORAL, Fla. – Today, during his IRS Roundtable in Doral, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis panned reports of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targeting Taylor Swift fans who sold tickets for more than $600. The new law will require ticketing platforms to give the IRS personal information on users who sold tickets. During the roundtable, the CFO also highlighted his Florida IRS Transparency Portal, created for individuals, private businesses, or non-profits to report evidence of discrimination by 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.

CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Just when you thought Washington couldn’t further intrude into the lives of Americans more, the deep state has found yet another way to screw over honest, hard-working taxpayers by digging deeper into your wallets. The Biden administration’s new ‘Taylor Tax’ on Taylor Swift fans who choose to resell their tickets are now at risk of being audited by the IRS. If Swifties bought tickets and made a profit of over $600 from their resell, you can bet that the IRS will expect you to report that profit to them. While Biden said he wants to go after millionaires and billionaires, turns out he wants to go after moms and dads who can’t attend Taylor Swift concerts.

“We setup our IRS Transparency Portal to report abuses by the IRS, and this is a perfect example of bureaucrats running around unchecked by a do-nothing-Congress. As we take in these complaints we’ll use it to inform our efforts in building state laws to fight back against the IRS for the upcoming session, and we’ll also provide it to the correct Congressional committees to document these abuses.             

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s the federal government's job, and I sure don’t want Uncle Sam knocking on my door. Taylor Swift is her own economic development engine and has done more good for the economy than Biden ever will. In this economy, people do everything they can to afford record-high inflation. If for some unforeseen circumstance occurs and you have to resell your concert tickets, you should be able to do so without any repercussions.

“The land of the free and home of the brave is swiftly becoming the land of the forgotten middle class and the home of the over-taxed. This is yet another example of federal overreach. It’s despicable, and I can’t think of a better way to ‘shake off’ the new army of 87,000 tax-hungry IRS agents who have you and your families in their sights than to help us fight back by reporting IRS activity to our IRS Transparency Portal.”

Doral Mayor Christi Fraga said, “Our local economies and small businesses are the economic engines that drive our state forward. Florida is proud of our heritage of promoting and living the American dream. Those dreams are at risk as long as the IRS is allowed free reign to target these hard-working business owners just to fill their coffers. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with CFO Patronis to push back against the tide, hold big government and big tech accountable, and give local communities like ours a chance to fight back.”

Gus Cabrera, President, Latin Builders Association said, “Floridians have worked tirelessly to build a state that they are proud of, where families and businesses can prosper. With record high inflation and high interest rates, we must ensure that the IRS does not hinder the opportunities created through homeownership in our state. We are proud to stand with CFO Patronis and thank him for his support of our working families and small business owners.”

Irina Vilarina, Owner, Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine said, “Thank you, CFO Patronis, for your hard work to spread the word and protect Floridians from big government overreach. The expansion of the IRS will lead to targeting in Florida, and how we can fight back will be important to business owners like me. Florida is the best state in the country for people to live and to run their businesses, and we must do everything we can as a community and a state to protect that freedom.”

Logan Padgett, Vice President of Communications, James Madison Institute said, “With Washington’s expansion of the IRS, we can expect to see a targeting of small businesses throughout Florida. At JMI, we are proud to advocate and advance the principles that make this country prosperous – including free markets, limited government, and economic liberty. Thank you, CFO Patronis, for your leadership, and for making sure that Floridians stay informed about this important topic and ensuring Florida remains free.”

Last week, the CFO issued letter to Venmo, PayPal, Cash App and Zelle demanding that they cease all operations to build technologies taxing Floridians from their small dollar transactions and that they public release all communications between their apps and the federal government.

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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).