Something To Keep In Mind As We Discuss The Deficit

One of the problems with our deficit is that the government does not always spend money wisely. Occasionally they do, but as with any large organization, mistakes are made. We could cut some of our deficit simply by being more efficient and avoiding stupid mistakes. Speaking of stupid mistakes…

Hot Air is reporting today that illegal aliens not authorized to work in the United States collected $4.2 billion in tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. This number is the result of an audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The article reports:

Many individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States, and thus not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) for employment, earn income in the United States.  The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides such individuals with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to facilitate their filing of tax returns.  Although the law prohibits aliens residing without authorization in the United States from receiving most Federal public benefits, an increasing number of these individuals are filing tax returns claiming the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), a refundable tax credit intended for working families.  The payment of Federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the United States without authorization, which contradicts Federal law and policy to remove such incentives.

The article goes on to explain that the IRS says it does not have the authority to deny the claims. I don’t mean to be difficult here, but shouldn’t Congress (or even President Obama) be doing something about this? Isn’t that their job?

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