Taxpayer ID Numbers Lead To Fraud

LD Jackson Taxpayer ID Numbers Lead To Fraud

One of the biggest arguments used against those of us who try to highlight the problems our country has with illegal immigration is denial. We are often told illegal immigration isn’t really a problem, that we are being unfair to a group of people who are only trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. In light of that claim, there is a new report out from the IRS that shows just how much better some non-resident workers are improving their lives, courtesy of the taxpayer ID program and the IRS. By my count, the report detailed at least $166 million in claims that are possible/probable fraudulent claims.

(Fox News) A recently released report shows widespread tax fraud in connection with the federal government’s Individual Taxpayer Identification Number program.

The U.S. Treasury inspector general report accuses the IRS of discouraging employees from reviewing applications for the ID numbers, which are generally from non-resident workers.

The inspector general specifically said there were 154 mailing addresses that were used 1,000 or more times on applications, including 15,795 numbers assigned to a Phoenix address.

The report, which evaluated the processing year 2011, also found inadequate controls can result in the numbers being assigned to people who have not proved their identity or foreign status, which can result in fraudulent tax returns.

The inspector general also found 10 individual addresses were used for filing 53,994 tax returns and receiving $86.4 million in fraudulent tax refunds. For example, 23,994 tax refunds totaling $46.3 million were issued to an address in Atlanta; and 2,507 tax refunds totaling $10.4 million were issued to an address in Oxnard, Calif.

In addition, the Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration reports found 10 bank accounts received 23,560 tax refunds totaling more than $16 million — including: 2,706 tax refunds issued to a single account totaling $7.3 million.

So, we have the Individual Taxpayer ID Program, which is used primarily by non-resident workers, and has multiple instances which suggests a high probability of fraud, and the IRS doesn’t flag them for investigation. Compare that to what would probably happen if a law-abiding American citizen had multiple tax return payments going to a single account or address. Do you suppose that would be under scrutiny by the IRS? My bet is the answer to that question is yes. IRS investigators would be all over it.

The IRS has responded to the report by saying they are moving to correct the problems. I have no reason to suspect they are not, but I do question why this wasn’t seen and corrected earlier. This report details only one year of returns. I can’t help but wonder what other years look like. This is a prime example of how illegal immigrants are using our system to make their lives better, at the expense of the American taxpayers.