On June 30, 2025, the NAM filed an amicus brief asking the 6th Circuit to reverse a district court decision giving the IRS essentially unrestricted authority to demand employee records in violation of EU privacy law. This case arose from a tax audit where the IRS required Eaton to produce documents from its Ireland-based employees that would violate the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Rather than finding alternative sources for the information or accepting Eaton’s good faith attempts to cooperate with IRS auditors, the IRS effectively forced Eaton to violate either U.S. or EU law.
As we explain in our brief, allowing the district court’s decision to stand risks jeopardizing the reciprocal respect between the U.S. and foreign laws. We highlight the importance of balancing the IRS’s interests in U.S. tax collection with the personal privacy of EU citizens, especially when Eaton is being asked to violate the law for what the district court already determined was irrelevant information.