Protect privacy, encourage common sense: Defeat Senate Bill 1241

Protect privacy, encourage common sense: Defeat Senate Bill 1241

http://ift.tt/2tr4XJF In late May, Senator Chuck Grassley sponsored and introduced Senate Bill 1241. It's known as the “Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017". Honestly, the proposals in this bill are downright scary. The current law states that if anyone enters the United States with more than $10,000 in the form of cash (or money orders or bearer bonds), they need to fill out FinCEN Form 105 and submit it to FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). The new bill proposes an expansion of the definition of what must be reported to include other things like virtual currency. This type of currency is most often stored in a digital wallets, or “hot wallets,” through companies like Coinbase for digitla currnecies like BitCoin and Ehteruem, or they can be stored offline in a hardware wallet. Doesn't that mean that no matter where you go, if you are carrying your cell phone or laptop, you're "transporting" the currency? This new law says yes, you must declare more than $10,000 in digital currency holdings. The bill also proposes steep penalties if there is failure to comply. The government could file a secret motion with a federal judge for a restraining order that would freeze any account you own. While the order is in effect your phone could be wiretapped, and the government could monitor your web browsing records and emails. And worse, the bill proposes to expand secret wiretaps. The Bank Secrecy Act is rife with problems, penalizing retired school teacher with FBAR penalties not the international terrorists it was claimed it would catch. The Bank Secrecy Act needs to be massively curtailed, not vastly expanded. Check back for updates, and feel free to Tweet the Senators to express your opinion about Senate Bill 1241: @ChuckGrassley ‏ @SenFeinstein ‏ @JohnCornyn ‏ @SenWhitehouse ‏ Parent & Parent LLP 60 EAST 42ND STREET, SUITE 4600 New York, NY 10165 (212)256-1335 http://ift.tt/1RfwK1f https://youtu.be/i3A8u4-cxzk IRS Medic