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IRS promotes fraud If you are not here legally.

Steve

Well-known member
I first became aware of the issue through the lens of right-wing media and almost dismissed it due to my own political assumptions. To be fair, it was so poorly reported and exclusively discussed on conservative websites like Breitbart, All That’s News and the Tea Party Patriots.

The story, featuring undocumented workers stealing Social Security numbers to apply for jobs and fill out W-2s under the watchful eye of the IRS, was first made public during a Senate Finance Committee meeting, when Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana asked IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to explain why the IRS doesn’t inform certain victims of employment-related identity theft — specifically people whose Social Security numbers have been used by undocumented immigrants to get work or fill out W-2 forms.

There it was: Koskinen confirming that when the IRS discovers undocumented immigrants have used a stolen SSN to apply for jobs or fill out W-2s but files their taxes using an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) — a number often provided to undocumented immigrants to pay taxes — they get a pass from the agency.

According to the report, this will no longer be the agency’s standard operating procedure by January 2017, when the IRS will begin informing victims of employment-related identity fraud.






As for illegals paying taxes.. really the poor pay income taxes?
While the IRS may be collecting revenue from the undocumented workers who are filing returns, Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee raised concerns of these filers actually receiving refunds from the IRS fraudulently. In theory, if an illegal worker gets a Social Security number, he can file three years of back taxes and claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, providing he can remember all the details of his off-the-books earnings during that time period.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked Koskinen about this theory and Commissioner Koskinen confirmed:

To clarify my earlier comments on EITC, not only can an individual amend a prior year return to claim EITC, but an individual who did not file a prior year return may file a return and claim EITC

When it comes to identity-related tax fraud, nothing is too complex if there’s a payoff.

Secret IRS policy hides identity theft from victims

http://www.wthr.com/article/secret-irs-policy-hides-identity-theft-victims

Everyone who meets minimum income thresholds in the US is required to file a tax return with the IRS.

For undocumented workers – who are also required to submit a tax return despite their illegal immigration status – it means using an individual taxpayer identification number, better known as an ITIN. It is a government-issued ID number granted to undocumented immigrants specifically for tax purposes, and it allows them to not only file taxes, but also to get tax refunds and certain tax credits.

But an ITIN cannot be used to get a job, and undocumented workers cannot legally get a Social Security number which most companies require for employment. Facing that dilemma, many undocumented immigrants figure out how to get a Social Security number anyway -- a number that does not belong to them – simply to get work.

The ID numbers submitted to the IRS – both an ITIN and a Social Security number -- clearly don't match. In fact, the IRS has an official name for that: an ITIN/SSN mismatch. It's a huge warning sign for identity theft.

But amazingly, the IRS accepts millions of ITIN/SSN mismatch tax returns anyway.

The agency actually encourages undocumented immigrants to file with a mismatched Social Security number that does not legally belong to them. The IRS website instructs tax preparers that undocumented workers can and should include on their tax returns any income they’ve earned using a Social Security number -- even though the IRS admits non-resident aliens are not legally eligible to receive a Social Security number in the first place!

So what does the IRS do with that information? What action does the agency take when it learns someone else used your Social Security number to get work and earn a paycheck?

"We're not allowed to say anything. Not a word," explained an IRS whistleblower.

"You were told to ignore it?" I asked, making sure I heard correctly.

"Yes.
Identity theft is a crime. It affects real people in a lot of ways. But we are not supposed to do anything. Just let it go," she said. "I talk to these people every day who don't understand exactly what happened to them, and it's heartbreaking."

the article should be read by all of us so we can respond to the they just want a job.




https://www.irs.gov/individuals/individual-taxpayer-identification-number-itin-reminders-for-tax-professionals
 
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