Probing PayPal's Patrons

As Tax Day comes closer, so do the snoops:

A federal court has granted the Internal Revenue Service permission to search PayPal members' offshore bank accounts and credit card records to identify possible tax evaders.

Under the order, issued by a U.S. District Court judge in San Jose, Calif., the IRS can view those records under certain conditions, the Justice Department announced this week. The IRS is seeking the access as part of its larger Offshore Credit Card Program, which aims to crack down on U.S. taxpayers who hold money offshore to avoid paying taxes….

PayPal, which received the summons roughly two weeks ago, is reviewing whether to provide the information, appeal the court order, or take some other action

Radley Balko described PayPal's past interactions with the authorities in a Reason piece published last summer.