May 15, 2001
Coalition for Constitutional Liberties
Letter to Secretary of the Treasury
Regarding Financial Privacy
A project of the Free Congress Foundation’s Center for Technology Policy
717 Second Street NE * Washington, DC 20002 * (202) 546-3000 * Fax (202) 543-5605
May 15, 2001
The Honorable Paul H. O’Neill
Secretary of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Secretary O’Neill:
The undersigned organizations, representing a diverse and broad cross-section of American society, are concerned that the Administration is not adequately safeguarding privacy in the context of certain international initiatives in the area of investigations regarding financial crimes. Specifically, we are concerned that the proposals of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for increased bank reporting on customers do not respect our financial privacy.
We recognize your increased concern for the tax implications with the OECD and the FATF but are concerned that you have not made privacy a sufficient priority. The current proposals of OECD and FATF attempt to institute the popularly rejected “Know Your Customer” financial regulation, thereby sidestepping the domestic legislative process. We are concerned about the attempt to get Know Your Customer adopted as an international “best practice” under the guise of increasing transparency.
Over 300,000 citizens filed comments against the Know Your Customer proposal under the Clinton Administration. We are disappointed that the Bush Administration continues to pursue an approach that Larry Lindsey has described as ineffective: 99.999% of all Currency Transaction Reports filed are on law-abiding citizens going about their normal business. The Suspicious Activities Reports’ approach discriminates against the poor, as well as racial and ethnic minorities.
The OECD and FATF’s campaigns against banking secrecy and “harmful tax competition” are problematic for several reasons. This approach undermines the public confidence between individuals and their financial institutions, accountants and lawyers. These policies would likely distort capital inflows to the United States and could act, effectively, as capital controls. Economic dislocations to affected countries could lead to unintended political, foreign policy and immigration concerns. Our modern economy requires a liberal capital policy that engenders the consumer trust that comes with respect for privacy. We strongly urge you to make a clear statement instituting policies that respect financial privacy and that the Treasury Department opposes the type of reporting requirements being advanced by the OECD and FATF.
Respectfully,
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Paul M. Weyrich National Chairman Coalitions for America J. Bradley Jansen Director Coalition for Constitutional Liberties James J. Fotis Executive Director Law Enforcement Alliance of America Jane Orient Executive Director American Association of Physicians and Surgeons John Berthoud President National Taxpayers Union Andrew F. Quinlan President Center for Freedom and Prosperity Frances B. Smith Executive Director Consumer Alert Katherine Albrecht Founder and Editor CASPIAN – Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering Gordon S. Jones President Association of Concerned Taxpayers Henry A. Whitmore Committee Chairman People Against Church Taxation Kent Snyder Executive Director The Liberty Committee Cliff Kincaid President America’s Survival, Inc. Richard W. Rahn Senior Fellow Discovery Institute Chuck Muth Chairman Republican Liberty Caucus Jon C. Pastore Executive Director Young Americans for Freedom Dr. Patricia McEwen Ministry Coordinator Life Coalition International Miriam Archer Director of Operations Christian Coalition of California Aaron Starr, CPA Chairman Libertarian Party of California Eunie Smith President Eagle Forum of Alabama Joey Davis State Director Concerned Women for America of Missouri Julaine K. Appling Executive Director Family Research Institute of WI Gene Linder Chairman Libertarian Party of Utah |
Lisa S. Dean Vice President Free Congress Foundation Jim Dempsey Deputy Director Center for Democracy and Technology George C. Landrith Executive Director Frontiers of Freedom Tom Shatz President Council for Citizens Against Government Waste Solveig Singleton Senior Analyst Competitive Enterprise Institute Edward A. Mallett President National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Steve Dasbach National Director Libertarian Party Eric Sterling President Criminal Justice Policy Foundation Tom DeWeese President American Policy Center Dwight Patel Director Coalition for a Tax-Free Internet Amy Ridenour President The National Center for Public Policy Research Bobby L. Hester President American Family Association of Arkansas Cedric and Sandi Boehr Co-Chairmen Kansas Constitution Party Mike Fellows Chair Montana Libertarian Party James A. Landrith, Jr. Editor & Publisher The Multiracial Activist and The Abolitionist Examiner Jim Harper Editor Privacilla.org Adrian Day President Global Strategic Management John Katon President AWS Construction Services, Inc. Christopher Whalen The Whalen Consulting Group New York David A. Hodgkinson Proprietor D.A. Hodgkinson, CPA. Bert Ely Banking Consultant Ely & Company, Inc. Leslee J Unruh President and Founder Abstinence Clearinghouse |