Identity theft bill and late retirement bills introduced in Congress

With the President’s Tax Advisory Panel about to recommend elimination of the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT), a $1.3 trillion move that would require offsets of roughly equal amounts, and with as the offsets including a limit on the deductibility of home mortgage interest, and a cap on the value of health insurance an employer can provide tax-free to employees, with perhaps limits on the deductibility of state and local taxes, perhaps being too “radioactive” for you - well - there are other topics in the mill.


On Oct 6th, a new Identity Theft bill ( H.R.3997, the “Financial Data Protection Act”) was introduced in House. The bill establishes detailed guidelines for notifying consumers about data security breaches. It also requires use of a “standardized” envelope or e-mail for such notifications where it uses a “substantial harm or inconvenience” standard for determining when to impose notification requirements. H.R.3397 would require notices of data security breaches to include a description of the actions taken by the company to restore the security and confidentiality of the breached information. It would impose on federal regulators the task of designing the standardized envelope or e-mail by which notices of breach would be transmitted. The bill also requires “reasonable” policies and procedures to protect sensitive information’s security and confidentiality.

Also Senators Herbert Kohl (D-WI) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduce Phased Retirement Bill S.1826, the “Older Worker Opportunity Act,” which sets out rules for phased retirement benefits - a concept under which older workers -- those past their employers’ normal retirement age -- could continue to work but also receive retirement benefits. Usually, the work is part-time and/or the retirement benefits are modified. Current pension laws can make such phased retirement options tricky.
S. 1826 would:
· Give a tax credit to employers who offer their workers the option of phased retirement;
· Protect post-retirement age workers who continue to work from loss of health insurance or pension benefits;
· Extend COBRA health coverage rights when an older worker reduces hours and thus faces loss of employer-provided group health insurance;
· Include a tax credit for families who are caring for an elderly member;
· Improve access to employment and training services available through the Workforce Investment Act; and
· Create within the Department of Labor (DOL) a task force on older workers. The task force would identify barriers faced by older workers and suggest ways to overcome those barriers, both for workers and for employers. The Kohl bill is mostly ERISA-based, and thus will head to the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee for consideration. Additional tax provisions on phased retirement are also likely to come into play; those provisions would be considered by the Senate Finance Committee.

ought to be eliminated outright. In the EU there is no ID industry because the individual owns all information pertaining to their identity in perpetuity. That's how it ought to be here as well. NO exchange of information about a person's identity without express written approval of said person.