Source: Cato Institute
by Nicholas Anthony
“Most Americans have felt the pain of inflation in recent years. However, what they don’t often see is that inflation also erodes financial privacy. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) adjusts its penalties for inflation, but it does not adjust reporting thresholds. In the most egregious case, the $10,000 reporting threshold now used for currency transaction reports (CTRs) has not been changed since the number was first established in 1945 by an executive order. That’s equal to around $180,000 today. When the Bank Secrecy Act was ultimately passed in 1970, you could buy two new Corvettes for $10,000. Today, you could spend all of that on just the engine. In practice, that means the Bank Secrecy Act regime is swallowing up more transactions every year as inflation decreases the value of the dollar. No bills are passed; no regulations are open to the public. Yet, the wheel is turning, and financial surveillance increases without any checks or balances.” (06/01/26)
https://www.cato.org/blog/financial-surveillance-expanding-our-eyes