Following a report in The Ozarks Sentinel, last week, Sen. Claire McCaskill has called on the Internal Revenue Service to immediately halt a reported $4.2 billion in tax credits improperly paid to illegal workers in the United States.
In a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Schulman, McCaskill, who has viewed a report by the Treasury Inspector General and asked Shulman to “promptly explain why the IRS continues to pay our billions of dollars to unauthorized workers.”
“I share the view of the Inspector General that the IRS has the authority to stop these payments and believe you must begin utilizing it without delay.
The Ozarks Sentinel reported that…
Undocumented workers collected $4.2 billion in a certain tax credit last year, up from less than $1 billion five years ago, according to a new audit by the U.S. Government.
The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration looked only at a tax benefit known as the Additional Child Tax Credit, a refundable credit meant for working families. The audit found that as a result of vague U.S. law — as well as an expansion of the tax credit in stimulus legislation and other measures — the number of illegal workers collecting the money has skyrocketed.
The report highlighted a quirk in U.S. law. Even people who are not authorized to work are supposed to pay the IRS taxes on their income. Many of those people cannot obtain a Social Security number, so to facilitate this the IRS hands out what are known as Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers — so illegal workers can file returns. However, in doing so many of those workers are claiming tax benefits like the Additional Child Tax Credit. For some, it’s a way of making even more money.

McCaskill has indicated if the IRS fails to act immediately she will pursue legislation to force the agency to follow federal law and end all payments to illegal.
You may read the letter here.

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