Congress has passed H.R.22, which, if signed by the President, will allow the IRS to confiscate the passports of citizens who owe the IRS more than $50,000 in taxes, penalties and interest. Congress calls this provision “Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Tax Delinquencies.”
Back in 2012 the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) suggested that denying or revoking U.S. passports would be an effective way to collect government revenues. The idea had bipartisan report. Senators Harry Reid and Orrin Hatch supported it. It has grown in popularity since then.
If the bill becomes law in its current form, the State Department may revoke, deny or limit passports for any individual the IRS says has a delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000.