IRS said to make $13 billion on 2013 improperly filed refunds

Jenny Tainsky — Tue, 13 May 2014 20:10:09 +0000

The U.S. government doled out more than $13 billion last year in improper payments of a tax credit meant to help the working poor, according to a government watchdog. One of the country’s largest cash assistance programs, the so-called Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) allows low-income workers to lower their tax bill by as much as $6,000, which in many cases prompts a significant refund check.

But the Internal Revenue Service estimates that around a quarter of all payments made for the tax credit in the 2013 fiscal year were issued improperly — resulting in anywhere from $13.3 billion to $15.6 billion in faulty payments, according to a report released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

While the IRS has long acknowledged that the tax credit is a major source of fraud, the TIGTA report found that the agency has made “little progress” in reducing the mistaken payments. “The IRS can and must do more to protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud and abuse,” Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George said in a statement.

In some cases, improper payments could be the result of eligibility confusion. In order to correctly claim the credit, a taxpayer must have a job and their income must fall under certain thresholds.

Read the rest of this article by CNN Money by clicking here.

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2014 Rich States, Poor States Report & Where Arizona Stands

Jenny Tainsky — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 19:47:26 +0000

The American Legislative Exchange Council today released their 7th annual “Rich States, Poor States” report, which ranks states in two metrics: historical performance based on economic indicators, and forecasted outlook based on policy variables. Here’s the top and bottom 10 breakdown this year:

Economic Outlook Ranking, 2014		Economic Performance Ranking, 2002-2012
1. Utah	41. Rhode Island	1. Texas	41. Massachusetts
2. South Dakota	42. Oregon	2. Utah	42. Maine
3. Indiana	43. Montana	3. Wyoming	43. California
4. North Dakota	44. Connecticut	4. North Dakota	44. Wisconsin
5. Idaho	45. New Jersey	5. Montana	45. Connecticut
6. North Carolina	46. Minnesota	6. Washington	46. Illinois
7. Arizona	47. California	7. Nevada	47. Rhode Island
8. Nevada	48. Illinois	8. Arizona	48. New Jersey
9. Georgia	49. Vermont	9. Oklahoma	49. Ohio
10. Wyoming	50. New York	10. Idaho	50. Michigan

It turns out that these policies matter. A quick look shows that Utah, North Dakota, Arizona, and Idaho appear in the top ten for performance and outlook, while Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, and Illinois appear in the bottom ten for both performance and policy.

Read the rest of this article by TaxFoundation.org by clicking here.

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IRS said to make $13 billion on 2013 improperly filed refunds

2014 Rich States, Poor States Report & Where Arizona Stands