Kelly calls for greater transparency over leaked American taxpayer information

On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and the Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee held a hearing focusing on The Pandora Papers and money held in offshore accounts. The Pandora Papers are nearly 12 million leaked documents disclosing financial information of world leaders, billionaires, and others. The leak follows separate reports earlier this year from ProPublica, which disclosed confidential, private, and legally-protected U.S. taxpayer information.

Rep. Kelly is seeking to learn more about the sources leaking these private documents, along with the potential solutions to both protect American taxpayers' information and prevent bad actors from taking advantage of the American financial system.

KEY EXCERPTS

Rep. Kelly:
"If we really wanted to explore the money laundering issues discussed in the Pandora Papers, we would hear from the administration and law enforcement about efforts to crackdown on illicit finance. But perhaps that is not the goal of this hearing."

"No one here supports foreign nationals laundering money in the U.S. But... I worry that the majority wants to go after trusts in the U.S. generally through massive new reporting regimes and new regulations. Farmers, small businesses, and millions of average Americans use trusts to plan for the future."

(On the ProPublica report.) "Tax records for thousands of Americans held at the IRS were leaked to the media. It has been 6 months, yet we have no answers."

BACKGROUND
The Pandora Papers are nearly 12 million leaked documents disclosing financial information of 35 current and former national leaders, and more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories. It remains unclear how the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which published the “Papers,” obtained the files.

ProPublica’s report revealed massive apparent leaks in private taxpayer information by federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). GOP lawmakers have called for greater oversight by the Biden administration to ensure IRS information remains confidential and secure.