Free Republic

Treasury investigator says the Internal Revenue Service has paid out more than $110 billion in tax credits over the past decade to people who didn't qualify for them. The Earned Income Tax Credits were intended for poor working families. In a report released Tuesday, the IRS inspector general said more than one-fifth of all credits paid under the program went to people who didn't qualify.

The Internal Revenue Service improperly paid up to $13.6 billion in Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) last fiscal year alone, according to a government report. For the uninitiated, the EITC is a refundable tax credit for low to moderate-income individuals and families. An individual or family does not have to pay taxes to qualify for the credit, but must file a tax return. According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the Internal Revenue Service’s rate of improper EITC payments for fiscal year 2012 was between 21 to 25 percent. That year, EITC payments totaled $62 billion. Inspector...

The Healthcare Act just forced upon Americans was pushed through with deceit by telling ignorant Americans they would receive healthcare at reasonable premiums. It turns out (as usual) that it was all a lie. What the Healthcare Act is, in fact, is a way to more thoroughly tax citizens without provoking a revolution. Millions of younger Americans never carried insurance because with good health they didn't need to. Now, the government is going to force EVERY adult to have healthcare. Many companies have dropped healthcare or have cut hours to 29 per week to not have to incur the costs...

IRS Sent $46 Million in Tax Refunds to 23,994 ‘Unauthorized’ Aliens — All at the SAME Address in Atlanta The IRS sent more than $46 million in tax refunds to 23,994 “unauthorized” alien workers who all listed the same address in Atlanta, Ga., in 2011, according to an audit report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). However, the Atlanta address that received millions of dollars in refunds was not the only address apparently housing thousands of “unauthorized” aliens. In fact, it wasn’t even the only address in Atlanta that was claiming such a situation. The TIGTA audit...

Forgive the original post, please, but there is something that keeps bothering me that I just need to vent. In all this scandal news surrounding the IRS, all the hours and hours of televised commentary about it, I have never once heard anybody mention the recent (and ongoing) scandal involving Identity Theft at the IRS. Not only have tens of thousands of people had their identities stolen via the use by others of their social security numbers to file returns . . . I am a victim, myself . . . but, it is also the case that billions of...

Eyewitness News shows a massive tax loophole that provides billions of dollars in tax credits to undocumented workers and, in many cases, people who have never set foot in the United states.

SPRINGFIELD — With the start of a new budget year just two days away, thousands of Illinois businesses are still waiting for state income tax refunds dating back to 2009. The Illinois Department of Revenue said Tuesday it would end the fiscal year June 30 still owing about $620 million in business income tax refunds. As of June 21, the department still owed 7,572 business income tax refunds, although spokeswoman Sue Hofer said the number by the end of the month would be lower because some since have been paid. The oldest of the overdue refunds goes back to April...

The Washington Examiner reports that the IRS failed its own audit, having been found to have made billions in refunds to people who don't deserve them using a program that by 2014 could result in $65 billion being given away to unqualified recipients. Federal auditors say a quarter of all checks sent out by the Earned Income Tax Credit program are undeserved, making it the second highest source of improper payments from the federal government. The EITC is a kind of reverse-tax program for low- and moderate- income individuals. If the federal tax credit is more than the amount of...

*snip* Fern Stephens, a revenue officer at the Internal Revenue Service, is being charged by the U.S. Attorney's office for stealing more than $160,000 in unclaimed tax funds from 12 taxpayers, according to federal court documents. *snip* Stephens also allegedly took advantage of her position in the IRS to put in fake tax refund requests and transfers in an IRS computer system so the money would go right back to her or relatives and friends.

Florida Governor and US Senate candidate Charlie Crist is getting so good at changing positions on an issue, he can now do it within the same televised interview. Appearing on CNN's State of the Union program today, the no-party-affiliated candidate was asked if he would return campaign contributions given by Republican donors before he abandoned the GOP. Mr. Crist's first response: "we'll give it back to people who had asked for it." But just a moment later he said, "People gave money to a good cause, I'm going to spend it on a good cause and that's how I feel...

Amid all the optimism that the consumer is back, it’s worth considering one of the reasons why: a huge tax refund season. As the economy was nose-diving last spring, most people probably overlooked the record-smashing $259 billion in refunds awarded (as of April 24) — roughly $40 billion, or 17% ahead of the 2008 tax season. Back then, panic was in the air, consumers were retrenching and the refunds acted as a Band-Aid on an open wound. But this year, with an economic upturn under way, an even more rewarding tax season is serving more as a vitamin boost. New...

This comes to me as no surprise, the IRS now getting creative with enforcing the new healthcare reform bill. From Reuters, the IRS is looking at tapping into income tax refunds, in order to collect any fines from people who refuse to buy health insurance. According to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said after speaking at the National Press Club, he has said that under the new law, “the IRS cannot seize assets or levy fines”, so Mr. Shulman has added that it would be “that the refunds were the most obvious option to collect penalties”.

Give people their money. It's the rallying cry of lawmakers around the country pushing back against states that are delaying tax refunds to shore up their budgets. Hawaii, North Carolina and New York are delaying refunds this year. Minnesota delayed some business tax refunds last year and may do so again. Alabama is waiting to send out millions of dollars in refunds until it has the cash.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Give people their money. It's the rallying cry of lawmakers around the country pushing back against states that are delaying tax refunds to shore up their budgets. Holding on to the refunds allows states to use the money for other purposes, earn interest on it or simply wait until there's enough cash to cover the checks. But the cost can be an unhappy public. "It's not the state's money, it's the people's money," said Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem. "It's money they've overpaid to the state, and they deserve to get their money back in a...

(CBS) Some states suffering severe, recession-induced budget problems are holding off on paying tax refunds to people and businesses. North Carolina, Hawaii and Alabama are already doing it and others, such as New York and Kansas, might. The states are holding or may hold onto your money as long as they can because they need to use it for other purposes, tax expert and attorney Barbara Weltman told "Early Show" Saturday Edition" co-anchor Chris Wragge. You'll eventually get your refund, but when depends on where you live, she explained. Laws differ from state-to-state, but most states have to issue a...

Gov. Paterson Freezes $500 Million, Says Financial Situation The Case, Won't Start Sending Again Until April 1 Embattled Governor: $1.5 Billion In School Aid Next To Be Halted NEW YORK (CBS) ― For hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, the check won't be in the mail -- at least not on time. New York State has stopped paying tax refunds and won't start again until next month. The tax refund delay is part of a bigger cash crunch. Message to New Yorkers: don't start spending your tax refund money because it's going to be delayed. Half a billion dollars' worth...

More states considering holding individual 2009 tax refunds until August/September. Other states to garnish wages for taxes due.

Residents eager to get their state tax refunds may have a long wait this year: The recession has tied up cash and caused officials in half a dozen states to consider freezing refunds, in one case for as long as five months. States from New York to Hawaii that have been hard-hit by the economic downturn say they have either delayed refunds or are considering doing so because of budget shortfalls.

This year, more Americans and businesses may be asking: Where's my tax refund? That's because cash-strapped states such as North Carolina, Alabama and Hawaii have been forced to slow down issuing income tax refunds to individuals and businesses because of a lack of funds in their budget. Kansas has hinted that a delay might be possible, and processing paper refunds in Iowa has slowed because the state doesn't haven't enough employees to get them processed faster. Another state, New York, is still considering whether they'll follow the likes of Hawaii and delay refund payments.

These greedy SOB's overtax the people, confiscate their tax dollars every week, blow the cash on useless, unproductive government programs, and now they don't have any of the people's money to give back after "borrowing" it - interest free - all year. From MSNBC. If you expect you'll be getting a refund from California when you file your 2008 state income tax return, be prepared: you may instead receive a "registered warrant." Translation: an IOU. Well, I have a few suggestions on how to deal with these reprobates. More . . .