When 4-Year-Olds Can Claim An $8,000 Tax Credit, Might We Suspect An Avalanche Of FRAUD From ALL Government Stimulus "Programs"?
spicpussy
"An IRS report found that more than 19,300 people claimed a total of
$139 million on their 2008 tax returns before purchasing a home even
though the law requires the purchase to take place first."
2) IRS DOCUMENTATION:
"The IRS does not require buyers to attach documents that verify when
they purchased their homes. The IRS's deputy commissioner for services
and enforcement, Linda E. Stiff, said the agency does not have the
ability to accept such documents electronically, nor does it have the
legal authority to disallow a claim if the documents are not attached,
which would make such a requirement moot."
-------------------------------
"Costly fraud and error reported in home buyers' tax program"
"IRS HAMSTRUNG BY LIMITATIONS Lawmakers consider extension"
By Dina ElBoghdady
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 23, 2009
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars may have been paid to people who
fraudulently or mistakenly took advantage of a lucrative tax credit
for first-time home buyers, including some who were employees of the
Internal Revenue Service and even children, an IRS watchdog told a
House panel on Thursday.
The findings, documented in a report by the Treasury inspector general
for tax administration, come as debate heats up in Congress over
whether to extend the $8,000 tax credit beyond its Nov. 30 deadline.
While the report alarmed lawmakers, supporters of the tax credit on
Capitol Hill pressed forward with efforts to keep the refund alive.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is working on a proposal
to extend the full $8,000 credit for four months and then gradually
phase it out by the end of next year, according to his office.
Meanwhile, experts who are closely tracking the existing program say
it's unlikely that the report released Thursday will undermine efforts
to extend the credit given the bipartisan support it has received,
especially from lawmakers representing states heavily hit by
foreclosures. These lawmakers say the tax credit has helped boost home
sales.
"There are simply too many Democrats and Republicans that want to see
this program extended for it to get derailed by the inspector
general's report," said Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst at Washington
Research Group.
4-year-olds claimed credit
The report found that more than 19,300 people claimed a total of $139
million on their 2008 tax returns before purchasing a home even though
the law requires the purchase to take place first, J. Russell George,
the inspector general, told a House Ways and Means subcommittee.
Nearly 74,000 buyers -- including some IRS employees -- claimed a
total of $500 million in tax credits despite indications that they may
have owned a home before, George said. The law bans people from
getting this credit if they have owned a home in the previous three
years.
Even children claimed the tax credit, said George, adding that 580
taxpayers under age 18 -- including some 4-year-olds -- claimed $4
million, presumably so their parents could dodge the income
limitations imposed by the program.
George went on to criticize the IRS for not requiring buyers to attach
documents that verify when they purchased their homes, something his
office has been advocating. The IRS's deputy commissioner for services
and enforcement, Linda E. Stiff, said the agency does not have the
ability to accept such documents electronically, nor does it have the
legal authority to disallow a claim if the documents are not attached,
which would make such a requirement moot. Lawmakers indicated they
would look into granting that authority.
Both Stiff and George said that there's a chance that some of the
suspicious tax credit claims may prove to be legitimate once they are
more thoroughly examined.
About 1.4 million households have claimed nearly $10 billion in tax
credits as of Aug. 22, and about 60 percent of them had adjusted gross
income of less than $50,000, according to a Government Accountability
Office report also released Thursday.
Stiff said all those claims have been resubmitted through a computer
filter designed to catch potential problems. As a result, the IRS has
identified more than 160 potential tax credit schemes that have
resulted in scores of criminal investigations, and the agency has
selected for reexamination 107,000 claims, some of which have been
frozen.
"Any time there is an opportunity to receive cash back, it tends to
attract people who might have the intent to defraud the government,"
Stiff said.
Has credit helped much?
The tax credit was enacted to help jump-start the housing market by
helping first-time home buyers.
When it took effect in April 2008, the program failed to motivate
buyers. The tax credit was capped at $7,500, and the money had to be
paid back over 15 years. To make the credit more appealing, Congress
scrapped the repayment requirement. It also raised the cap to $8,000
starting Jan. 1 but continued to exclude investors, second-home buyers
and people earning more than $95,000 a year.
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who presided over the hearing, said he
appreciated the IRS's quick implementation of the tax credit programs
and timely refunds, but he concluded that "we want to and we need to
stop this fraud and abuse."
Experts who track the industry are at odds over how helpful the tax
credit has been.
The real estate industry and other supporters say it has played a key
role in propping up the housing market and helping clear a glut of
lower-priced homes.
The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of the
buyers who bought their first homes this year did so only because of
the credit.
But the program's staunchest critics balk at the program's price tag
and say taxpayers should not have to bear the burden. They attribute
the recent pickup in sales mostly to plunging home prices and record-
low interest rates. The tax credit, they say, has only succeeded in
pushing potential buyers into purchasing homes earlier than they
otherwise would have.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have offered roughly two dozen measures to keep
the credit going. Reid's newest proposal would keep the $8,000 tax
credit in place for four months and then lower the amount by $2,000
every three months. The proposal, which could be tacked onto an
unemployment benefits measure possibly next week, would apply only to
first-time buyers.
The plan is meant as an alternative to another proposal, by Sen.
Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), that
would extend the tax credit to all home buyers until June 30 and raise
the income limits to $150,000, or $300,000 for a couple. But some
lawmakers oppose the idea because of its estimated $16.7 billion cost.
The Obama administration has not taken a position on extending the tax
credit.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102200812.html
Suppurating Tool
FRAUD, AND ABUSE OF U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDS IN IRAQ ... BILLION$
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"Audit finds Iraq contractor overbilled for vehicle parts"
By Walter Pincus
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 30, 2009
A defense contractor that supplied vehicle parts for the Iraqi army
sought reimbursements from the U.S. military far in excess of the cost
of the items, according to a new report by the special inspector
general for Iraq reconstruction.
The contractor, Aecom Government Services, charged $237 for a vehicle
side mirror that was supposed to cost $14.88, according to the report.
The company also submitted invoices to the U.S. military in Iraq
seeking reimbursements of $196.50 for a bag of 10 washers that was
supposed to cost $1.22, $10 for a fuse that should have cost 45 cents
and $210 for an inner tube that was supposed to cost $24.09.
Aecom officials disputed the allegations, telling auditors that the
overcharging was the result of "billing errors" that "occurred early
in the contract," according to the report, scheduled for release
Friday. The company said that "cumulative adjustments were made."
Paul J. Gennaro, a senior vice president of Aecom, said Thursday that
the company had "self-identified and corrected" the issues, "making an
immediate repayment over two years ago -- to the client's
satisfaction."
Stuart W. Bowen Jr., the special inspector general, said in the report
that the findings point to larger issues with government contracts
issued for work in Iraq. Preliminary audits of 22,000 Defense
Department transactions involving about $10.7 billion have identified
not just overpayments by the government, but also duplicate payments,
as well as payments to fictitious vendors and addresses.
The preliminary findings have prompted a decision to examine all
financial transactions related to the major U.S. programs in Iraq --
spending that totaled $35.2 billion as of Sept. 30, 2008. The report
said particular attention will be paid to programs "that afford easy
access to cash," such as the military's $3.6 billion Commander's
Emergency Response Program.
Aecom Government Services' contract called for it to buy repair parts
for Iraqi military units as part of a program to make the units self-
sufficient in logistics. The firm won the contract based in part on
the per-item unit price it quoted, plus an allowable markup.
Bowen's auditors reviewed four of 139 invoices Aecom submitted for
repayment from July 2005 to September 2009; they totaled $29.9
million. From those, the audit identified "about $4.1 million in
potential overbillings."
The auditors disputed assertions that Aecom had repaid the government
in full. In an interview, Daniel Kopp, a spokesman for Bowen, cited
the case of the washers.
"Based on the documentation Aecom provided us, they've never
reimbursed the government for the washers," he said.
Contractors such as Aecom have their invoices reviewed by Army
Contracting Command personnel in Rock Island, Ill. But Bowen's
auditors found that the command "did not have enough experienced
personnel to review invoices thoroughly, leaving the U.S. government
vulnerable to undetected overcharges." Over time, additional personnel
were transferred to Rock Island, and the review process improved.
Thereafter, the contracting office "denied payment of as much as 33%
from invoices, compared to only 0.1% from invoices prior to that
time," the report said.
On its Web site this month, Aecom Government Services announced a
$78.8 million six-month extension of its contract with the U.S. Army
to support operations in Afghanistan, which entails providing general
support maintenance and running maintenance facilities at two military
bases as well as forward operating bases and satellite locations. The
Los Angeles-based parent company, Aecom, provides worldwide technical
and management services and reported $6.1 billion in revenue for the
year ending June 30, with operations in more than 100 countries.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/29/AR2009102904437.html