Thread: Thousands May Incorrectly Be Using Stimulus Tax Breaks

Thousands May Incorrectly Be Using Stimulus Tax Breaks

LINNLEY BROWNING
Published: December 22, 2009

Thousands of American taxpayers incorrectly claimed more than $500 million in tax benefits under the Obama administration’s tax break for first-time home buyers, a government watchdog report said Tuesday.

That finding was one part of a report by the inspector general for tax administration that said the Internal Revenue Service does not know whether the majority of the $312 billion in tax breaks available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being claimed legitimately.

The report said that for businesses and individual taxpayers claiming tax relief under the 2009 act, “the IRS is unable to verify eligibility for the majority of Recovery Act benefits at the time a tax return is processed.â€

ITIN Why are they being handed out like candy to illegal aliens or frauds?

The watchdog agency also said Tuesday in a separate report that an I.R.S. program that has issued more than 14 million taxpayer identification numbers to immigrants is plagued with fraud that costs the government billions of dollars in improper tax refunds.

The report found that nearly 70 percent of such numbers should not have been issued because their applicants provided murky documentation. The numbers, called individual taxpayer identification numbers, are typically used by immigrants who are not American citizens or by permanent residents who have entered the United States legally.