Monday, June 17th, 2013 @ 8:34PM

Identity Theft Related Tax Fraud Doubled from 2010 to 2011 – Cost Taxpayers $5.2 Billion

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Proposal Could Aid Berks County Where Law Enforcement Has Fought to Combat Problem And Municipalities Across Commonwealth

Washington DC – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) called for the creation of a multi-agency federal task force that would combat tax fraud tied to identity theft. The coordinated federal effort could aid Berks County where law enforcement has aggressively fought tax fraud as well as municipalities across the Commonwealth.

“Tax fraud linked to identity theft is a major issue for law enforcement across the state,” Senator Casey said. “A coordinated federal effort is the best way to bolster the work that is underway in Berks County and other municipalities. I’m hopeful that with tax day approaching the Justice Department, the IRS and the Social Security Administration will take this opportunity to increase their efforts on tax fraud.”

“I appreciate Senator Casey’s attention to this very serious matter,” said Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams. “We believe that the IRS must institute a multifaceted approach to this problem. First, the IRS must immediately increase their enforcement initiatives to stop this problem. Secondly, the IRS needs to enact controls that would require verification of W2’s and Social Security numbers before refunds are sent to the thieves who are perpetrating this fraud on the Federal Government.

On November 29, 2012, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report pointed to over 600,000 incidents of tax fraud related to identity theft in 2011, more than double the previous year. More troubling, the report suggests that this finding represents only a fraction of the overall fraud perpetrated against taxpayers. In July 2012 the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found 1.5 million tax returns with potentially fraudulent refunds in 2011, representing $5.2 billion in losses to the Treasury. The Inspector General further pointed to a growing problem, estimating $21 billion in fraudulent refunds over the next five years.

See the full text of Senator Casey’s letter.

Posted by cfegov
Categories: Online articles