Coinbase Case: Court Rules In Favour Of IRS
In a major decision, a federal judge in New Hampshire dismissed a case filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contesting the agency’s acquisition of financial data from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The IRS did not violate James Harper’s constitutional rights, as he claimed, according to U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante.
In Harper’s case, it was claimed that the rights to due process and against arbitrary searches and seizures had been violated. Judge Laplante, however, threw out the complaint, claiming that the protections and checks already in place for the IRS’s authority were adequate and that Harper’s rights had not been violated.
Due to the court’s ruling, the IRS’s ability to get financial records from third-party intermediaries, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, and its wider ramifications for taxpayer privacy have come to light.
In the order issued on Friday, Judge Laplante noted, “The IRS’s actions at issue in this case fall squarely within that broad latitude, and Harper is not entitled to protection or relief beyond the existing congressionally and judicially imposed ‘safeguards’ and checks on the IRS’s powers.”
(With inputs from Shikha Singh)
You need to login in order to Like
