Posted on 10/30/2008 1:23:12 PM PDT by mombyprofession
WASHINGTON – The government sent out more than $1 billion in fraudulent refunds last year and offered this explanation Thursday for the bad checks in the mail: The Internal Revenue Service has too few resources to pursue every tax fraud case.
IRS investigators never even looked at an estimated $742 million in fraudulent refunds, according to a report by the Treasury Department office that monitors the agency. When they did identify an additional $264 million in bad refunds, it was too late to stop them from being issued.
The report noted that the IRS must divide its limited resources among numerous areas of compliance. "However, this is a significant revenue loss to the federal government and that must be addressed," said J. Russell George, the Treasury's inspector general for tax administration.
The number of improper refunds filed appears to be growing rapidly, the report said. "The problem is becoming unmanageable, and the IRS cannot afford to continue handling it in the same manner as in the past," according to the report. It urged the tax agency to make the refund screening program — known as the Questionable Refund Program — a priority.
The IRS has estimated that the tax gap — the difference between taxes owed and taxes actually paid — at about $290 billion a year. Of that, about 57 percent comes from individuals understating incomes or overstating deductions and exemptions.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Be interesting to see how many of these “refunds” went to Democratic politicians.
One way to fix this. Repeal the income tax. Its usefulness has come to pass.
And no one will lose their job...
I had the opposite problem. The idiots from the IRS claimed I owed them about 200% in tax and penalties(instead of about 20%)on a mistaken understatement of income of about $200 on my return, when I neglected to include some dividend income.
I tried to call them, but the lady who answered said I’d have to call another number to talk about it. I then called that number, and it was continuously busy.
Finally, I wrote a letter appealing, by enclosed a whole fricking $36 in tax plus interest, and told them about their mistake.
They wrote back saying basically I was correct, without any apology.
Somehow, I think they spent more than $36 to get the money back to them, but I must have been a super high priority!!!
And while you’re at it, disband the IRS!
What usefulness?
The income tax (as well as FICA taxes and other Socialist wealth redistribution schemes) are only "useful" in manipulating the behavior of citizens and taxpayers. And, unfortunately for Americans, the Socialist utopia that such social engineering was supposed to achieve has turned out instead as a Rat/RINO-infested hell hole.
That said, repealing the income tax without immediately repealing the associated Federal spending is like trying to detox a crack addict: it has to be phased in. Phase in a flat-rate individual and corporate income (wages for individuals, operating income for corporations) tax without credits and deductions (but with a personal exemption) and without double taxation of savings and investments, and then phase that out along with the associated Federal spending.
Or is it that people are filing claims for non-existent taxpayers and pocketing the money? If so, wouldn't the SSNs show a problem?
Ummm...stupid question...couldn't this lost money pay for the people needed to find the lost money? Heck, hire temps on a commission basis...there's bound to be a few H&R Block types that are out of work on April 16th.
WEll my history may be skewed but when the Income tax was implemented it was a way to bring the country out of the depression and pay for the war. Just like SS, it was supposed to be a temporary fix. The problem is the gubment doesn’t really believe in temporary fixes of this nature.
Yes, there is fraud, but unless they want to give a detailed report telling where they think it is, and why they probably missed it, they're just looking for money to buy more poles and tackle for a taxpayer fishing expedition.
I had a similar problem cause by their data entry error of a child’s SS number causing them to disallaw deductions back to the year of her birth (about 3 years).
I called, I faxed a copy of BC and SS card, I snail mailed them, I called some more. I could not get those numpties to understand that THEY had the number wrong (two numbers transposed).
Occassionally, I would get somebody on the phone who would immediately see the issue, but their computer would lock up or not allow them to “fix” the number. This went on for two effing years during which they confiscated returns due us and continued to bill us for back taxes and mounting fines and interest.
I fnally contact my US Senator. He fixed it and I got the withheld returns in 10 days.
One of the basic problems with any federal agency is their inability to fire useless and incompetent workers. In the IRS’ case I suspect the deadwood out numbers the live wood.
The federal income tax, as established by the Sixteenth Amendment, was ratified in 1913, long before the Depression ever got underway.
Simple sales tax would fix this problem you know. Besides the icome tax and the IRS are an abomination.
Well if I had known it was that easy to get a big refund. Here all along I have been providing documented proof of my income and deductions. DOH!
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