America 2021

I would've expected that for decades now.

Right? And if you wanted to avoid reporting for reasons(?) you could pay in cash.

Cash is literally non-traceable.

Cash is king.

Why have you expected your bank to contact the IRS anytime you deposited or wrote a check for $600. Why does the IRS need to know that?

For the same reason they want to know when you have a deposit of money more than $2000.

If you've ever deposited more than $2000 in one shot, the bank has reported that to the IRS.

And, honestly, I'd have to read up on what's got you upset about it. Do you have a link to a credible source or news outlet?

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-banking-lobby-groups-oppose-proposed-tax-reporting-law-2021-09-17/
"The new proposal will require financial services companies to track and submit inflows and outflows from every bank account above a minimum threshold of $600 during a year to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including breakdowns for cash."

Also, the present requirement is and has been $10,000 and not for regular checks, but for CASH and only for DEPOSITS.

https://money.usnews.com/banking/articles/if-you-deposit-a-lot-of-cash-does-your-bank-report-it-to-the-government
"Banks report individuals who deposit $10,000 or more in cash. And if an individual makes cash deposits over several days that are less than, but still add up to, $10,000, that person will be reported, Castaneda says."

Found it. this cruise ship claim is infowars nonsense. However, there is a proposal from the Biden admin to have the banks report all credit/debit transactions for accounts holding more than $600 annually. The banks won't report who made the transactions or any memos/notes about what the transactions were about.

Its' an effort to track down actual spending and hold the rich accountable for their taxes. The amount is set so low as to make it hard for the rich to manipulate the rules by having multiple transactions/accounts that sit below the reporting line.

So, the government wouldn't know who was spending what, only specific amounts are being spent from the accounts.

You can read some facts here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/09/29/fact-check-post-treasury-tax-proposal-partly-false/8411799002/

Read: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-banking-lobby-groups-oppose-proposed-tax-reporting-law-2021-09-17/
"The new proposal will require financial services companies to track and submit inflows and outflows from every bank account above a minimum threshold of $600 during a year to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including breakdowns for cash."

I used the cruise ship - which I made up myself - and I have never, ever listened to infowars. I could just as easily used a dinner for their 50th anniversary that cost over $600. And cash would not exclude the requirement for a restaurant to deposit the money and then the bank have to report it and the source. And it is not just ATM activity. All inflow and outflow of amounts - via cash or check >= $600 must be reported. It is not the only the "rich" who make payments this size. House payment, rents, car payments, dinners out for special occasions, a new couch, a new TV, groceries for a month... I can somewhat understand the $10,000 requirement because it mostly is directed at illegal activity like drugs and money laundering. But $600 is a totally random number and will put ridiculous red tape burdens on credit unions and banks.

It's not random. It's a deliberately low amount in order to prevent the wealthy from using many many micro transactions in order to avoid taxes.

That is so ridiculous - the wealthy do no deal in $600 tax dodges.

Do you mean you thought that was already the requirment?

Depending on the cost of the cruise, it could be covered on the gift tax. right?

The issue is not if it is taxable or not, the issue is why is it the IRS' business if I spend $600 on a cruise for my parents? And why should my credit union have to report that to the IRS or face a fine?
It is unnecessary regulation.

Because the wealthy use multiple small transactions to avoid paying their taxes. Setting the bar low at $600 allows the government to catch tax cheats.

The wealthy do no deal in $600 transactions to avoid taxes. That is not the intention here. The wealthy use off shore accounts, legal tax deductions (aka tax loopholes to the uninformed), and zero tax investments. If the IRS is thinking people with $600 car payments or house payments are cheating the tax man, their coming after middle to low income tax payers. They don't go after lower income taxpayers because they simply do not exist.

And again - what business is it of the IRS if, when or where any of us spend $600?

Because a gift that large would be subject to being taxed. That's why it's the business of the IRS

A gift of $600 is not subject to taxation.

Yes.

Found it. this cruise ship claim is infowars nonsense. However, there is a proposal from the Biden admin to have the banks report all credit/debit transactions for accounts holding more than $600 annually. The banks won't report who made the transactions or any memos/notes about what the transactions were about.

So, they won't know that you bought your parents a cruise. They'll just know that money was spent. They won't know who you are or what you spent that money on.

Its' an effort to track down actual spending and hold the rich accountable for their taxes. The amount is set so low as to make it hard for the rich to manipulate the rules by having multiple transactions/accounts that sit below the reporting line.

So, the government wouldn't know who was spending what, only specific amounts are being spent from the accounts.

You can read some facts here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/09/29/fact-check-post-treasury-tax-proposal-partly-false/8411799002/