WASHINGTON — Three large tax preparation firms sent “extraordinarily sensitive” information on tens of millions of taxpayers to Facebook parent company Meta over the course of at least two years, a group of congressional Democrats reported on Wednesday.

They say some of that data was then used by Meta to create targeted advertising to its own users, other companies, and to train Meta’s algorithms.

The report urges federal agencies to investigate and potentially go to court over the wealth of information that H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer shared with the social media giant.

In a letter to the heads of the IRS, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the IRS watchdog, seven lawmakers say their findings “reveal a shocking breach of taxpayer privacy by tax prep companies and by Big Tech firms.”

Their report said highly personal and financial information about sources of taxpayers’ income, tax deductions and exemptions were made accessible to Meta as taxpayers used the tax software to prepare their taxes.

How we got Here

That data came to Meta through its Pixel code, which the tax firms installed on their websites to gather information on how to improve their own marketing campaigns. In exchange, Meta was able to access the data to write targeted algorithms for its own users.

The program collected information on taxpayers’ filing status, income, refund amounts, names of dependents, approximate federal tax owed, which buttons were clicked on the tax preparers’ websites and the names of text entry forms that the taxpayer navigated, the report states.

Taxpayer data was also shared with Google, through its own tracking tools — though the firm told lawmakers that it never used the information to track users on the internet, according to the report.

Action Items

The letter to federal agencies was signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal, Tammy Duckworth, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Katie Porter. The lawmakers called for the agencies to “immediately open an investigation into this incident.”  To fully investigate this matter and prosecute any company or individuals who violated the law.

They ask the agencies to investigate “and prosecute any company or individuals who violated the law,” saying it could result in billions of dollars in criminal liability to the firms.

The Markup, a nonprofit journalism outlet focusing on technology, initially reported on the data-sharing between tax firms and Meta in November. TaxAct told The Markup noted that it takes the privacy of its customers’ data “very seriously” and “endeavors to comply” with all IRS regulations.” TaxSlayer said  that its customers’ privacy is “of utmost importance” and that it had removed the Pixel to evaluate its use.

H&R Block said on Wednesday that it takes protecting client privacy very seriously and has taken steps to prevent the sharing of information through the Pixel coding.

Meta said that it has been clear in its policies that advertisers “should not send sensitive information about people through our Business Tools.”“Doing so is against our policies and we educate advertisers on properly setting up Business tools to prevent this from occurring,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Our system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data it is able to detect.” However it must be duly noted that Facebook has been found responsible on multiple occasion of abusing privacy laws.

Next Steps

Representatives from the IRS, the Justice Department, the FTC and the IRS watchdog also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sharing such taxpayer information without their consent is a “breach of taxpayer privacy by tax prep companies and by Big Tech firms that appeared to violate taxpayers’ rights and may have violated taxpayer privacy law,” the lawmakers added.

High Rate Of Decline for Student Enrollment

Working remotely offers huge advantages to workers, and employers. Time saved during commutes translates to a fresh worker not needed a wind down from the morning traffic joust. The end of the day disconnect from work is almost immediate. Giving workers more time to apply to balancing the work/life scale. Leading to happy and productive employees. The overhead costs for offices spaces could be lessened, saving valuable capital, creating cash flow positive while strengthening market leverage.

Real Estate Equities founder Joel Marcus shared with Business Analyst Maria Bartiromo.

“This would be an awfully good solution,” Alexandria Real Estate Equities founder Joel Marcus told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo Thursday. “And I think a number of cities are beginning to look at this, and a number of private developers have certainly taken this on.”

According to the National Association of Realtors, Chicago, New York City, D.C., Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Philadelphia all reported an increase in available office buildings as of February. At the current recovery rate, it would take nearly three years to reabsorb pre-pandemic office space.

“There is a glut of older office buildings in the central business district of many big cities. And so we’re really looking at, I think, a historic opportunity,” Marcus explained. “And I think the cities, states and federal government need to do a lot more talking about this to see if we can really bring these two phenomena together.”

“Imagine if one was able to solve part of the housing crisis by turning many of these older, kind of obsolete buildings in the central business districts into housing,” the real estate investor continued. “It would be a wonderful opportunity.”

However, the transformation process will likely require complex collaboration between the cities and real estate conglomerates, Marcus noted.

“There’s economic efforts to do that, which won’t be cheap,” Marcus pointed out. “And that’s where cities, states and the federal government can provide appropriate incentives to allow that to happen.”

The potential growth of supply within the U.S. housing market could also help boost the hospitality and service industry, according to the real estate expert.

“We have to remember, you can’t just have residential buildings. You need services, you need groceries, you need cleaning establishments,” Marcus said. “So this is a great opportunity also to restore mom-and-pop businesses in some of these important locations.”

A new Alabama school is granting young Americans an education , and a whole lot more. Birmingham’s Build UP community school teaches students essential trade and life skills throughout a six-year program while they also restore homes in the area. James Sutton and Anthony Beckett Founders of Build UP Community  discuss why the Build Up Community School. Build UP community teaches Life and trade skills through home renovation projects.

Upon completing the program, students will have gained a high school diploma, an associate’s degree and the potential to own a home of their own. “We’re really a first-of-a-kind school that combines workforce, education and development with a high school diploma,” Sutton said.”We’re setting students up to become credentialed and licensed in a high-demand, high-paying career field,” he added.

Sutton explained that after the six-year program, students become eligible to earn a zero-interest loan on a home.

The nonprofit sector of the Build UP program acquires homes in the area to be used in renovation projects, Beckett said — homes that could wind up back in the hands of the students themselves.

While students receive hands-on experience in construction and learn other hard skills, they are also equipped with the tools to start their own businesses if they so choose, Sutton said. “We want to foster that entrepreneurial spirit in them,” he said. “They can earn a two-year degree, they can earn a credential or they can start a business.”The Build UP staff members stressed how students get to “create their own outcomes” while exploring career options in a changing workforce.”Therefore, they can have a sustainable career as well as longevity and sustainability within their homes and communities,” Beckett said.

Build UP is still enrolling students. “We’re excited about what the school can do and the lives it’s going to change for generations to come,” Sutton said.

This Story was first publish on Fox and Friends.

“We’re redefining old age,” says Richard Johnson, director of the Program on Retirement Policy with the Urban Institute, a Washington-based think tank. “Workers 65 and older are going to become much more important in the coming decade than they are today.”

The trend holds major implications for U.S. employers who have now spent more than two years trying to hire. In part because of what it says about who remains available to work. And which worker populations have the most untapped potential. Employment among prime-age Americans — aged 25 to 54 — has more than fully recovered and surpassed its pre-pandemic level. But employment among those above age 65 fell roughly 10% at the start of the pandemic and has yet to recover, Johnson says.

That means there is room for employers to lure potentially millions of retired Americans back to work for the right opportunity. Particularly as pandemic-related health concerns continue to fade. Given the growth in employment among older workers before the pandemic, some economists expect the wave of retirements over the past two years could be largely reversible. Making the growing ranks of Americans over 65 an available talent pool.

Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, found that the share of Americans who are retired soared by 2.1 million above trend between February 2020 and June 2021. The increase wasn’t due to more people moving into retirement, but fewer people than normal going back to work after choosing to retire.

The Kansas City Fed economists felt that trend could be temporary for two main reasons. First, because previous recessions never saw this phenomenon, they believed it was an effect of Covid related health concerns and would fade alongside the pandemic.

And the share who retired “includes people across a wide range of ages,” the economists wrote. Suggesting many of those who postponed their plans to rejoin the labor force still have time to do so when the pandemic ends.

As of 2021, 25.8% of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 were still working, according to Labor Department data. That share is forecast to jump to 30.7% by 2031.

Article published by Barron’s on Marketwatch