The Social Security Administration commissioner and Internal Revenue Service CEO Frank Bisignano defended the legality of the new stock-donation rules, saying Treasury has the authority to approve such contributions.
In an appearance Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Bisignano discussed the program’s expansion, the risks associated with concentrated stock investments and the IRS’s plans to increase its use of artificial intelligence.
Stock Donations Raise Legal Questions
A host questioned whether allowing individual-stock donations departs from the program’s original design, which generally directs account assets into eligible diversified investments. The host also warned that concentrating investments in one or two stocks could expose beneficiaries to greater losses if those shares decline.
Bisignano said the arrangements fall within the Treasury secretary’s authority and defended the changes. “It is legal,” he said, adding that the program would benefit American children.
The Treasury’s updated rules allow certain qualified contributions in publicly traded U.S. corporate stock, with a five-year holding requirement generally applying to those shares.
Bisignano rejected concerns about concentration risk, saying donations would come from multiple philanthropists and corporate matching programs. He said more than 70 companies had committed to participate and that additional donors were expected before year-end.
Trump Accounts Funding Push
Bisignano said the program had reached approximately 70 million enrolled accounts and expected 25 million to be funded by that weekend. He credited contributions from Michael and Susan Dell, Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner and other donors, and said the administration aimed to reach 70 million children by year-end.
He also said the government would continue communicating with households and working with donors individually to expand participation.
IRS Eyes AI for Taxpayer Services
Bisignano described tax collections as strong this year and said the IRS plans to use AI to improve taxpayer services, communication and the quality of its work.
“We’ll always have humans, but our ability to manufacture a lot more work and higher quality work will be driven by AI,” he said, adding that the IRS had held a two-day leadership meeting focused on the technology.
He said AI could help reduce false positives and improve how the agency handles taxpayer issues. Bisignano also described tax preparers as a distribution network for Trump Accounts, saying they would promote the program to clients with dependents. He expects the IRS to deliver strong performance in 2027.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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