Others are Catching On to the Tax Refund Fraud
In a recent Bloomberg Editorial in a February 15, 2015 Columbus Dispatch Editorial Page, two others seem to have discovered the $20 to $30 billion fraud scheme. Unfortunately, one set is the identity thieves who now have pushed the fraud not only to the federal level but to the state levels as well. If you buy an identity, you might as well get the most out of it given Turbo Taxes’ sophisticated software which includes all the state tax forms and many local forms within a state. I wonder if the local city and county income tax authorities are aware of the problem and have detected the fraud at their level yet? The other group to discover the fraud are the main stream media. Finally… With this editorial written by Bloomberg and reprinted in the Columbus Dispatch, word is seeping out to the public about this massive fraud scheme. The IRS has been battling these schemes for 4 years or more and are providing taxpayers effected with new identifiers (pins) so they can file their legitimate returns. They also are coordinating with state and local police. The fact that Congress is ‘gutting’ the IRS budget and has been doing so since 2010 must stop. The IRS needs the funds to address these issues as well as perform its normal duties in collecting the monies owed to the Federal government. Congress must also allow refunds to be paid later than 45 days from the filing date of the return and require that employers and others file their information sooner and electronically. Most businesses use payroll services or have sophisticated in house programs already. They are required to get their W-2s to their employees in 30 days. This is not a great leap. When will the President and Congress take the necessary steps to combat this fraud. We hope soon.
Harry Pukay-Martin
