Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 @ 3:37PM

Tax Crimes and Identity Theft Prevention Act – Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to take necessary action to correct a tax return or tax information affected by the misuse of a taxpayer’s identity within 90 days after receiving notice of such misuse from the taxpayer.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) authorize the Secretary to disclose tax return information to federal, state, and local law enforcement personnel who are personally and directly engaged in the investigation of identity theft; (2) impose a fine and/or prison term on any person who knowingly or willfully misappropriates another person’s tax identification number; (3) increase the civil and criminal penalties for improper disclosure or use of tax information by tax return preparers; and (4) require the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report to Congress on the number of reported tax fraud cases and on actions taken in response to such reports.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) implement an identity theft tax fraud prevention program that provides for a unique personal identification number (PIN) on tax returns; (2) establish a fraudulent tax refund prevention program that adds additional triggers to the refund database to identify potentially fraudulent tax refunds; and (3) review whether current federal tax law prevents the effective enforcement of local, state, and federal identity theft statutes.

Authorizes the Commissioner to transfer appropriated funds to be used solely to prevent and resolve potential tax fraud cases.

Directs the Commissioner to establish in the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS the position of Local Law Enforcement Liaison to coordinate the investigation of tax fraud with state and local law enforcement agencies.

Directs the Comptroller General to study and report on the role of prepaid debit cards and commercial tax preparation software in facilitating fraudulent tax returns through identity theft.

Prohibits the Secretary of Commerce from disclosing information contained on the Death Master File relating to a deceased individual to persons who are not certified to access such information.

Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to state and local law enforcement agencies for the investigation and prosecution of tax crimes.

View House Bill 531 (PDF)

Posted by cfegov
Categories: House bills