4 thoughts on “CNN Video on Tax-refund fraud”

1. I don’t believe that the performance of cost and return analysis is an integral part of IRS enforcement or if it is, the tools and assumptions used are woefully weak. This is a weakness that is a part of many government departments.

2. It is not as lucrative to pursue the criminals and wasting money for putting them in prison at a cost of US$50/year/person, as imposing penalties on retirement savings of gullible expats (who don’t owe any taxes). The IRS can’t get any money from tax refund fraud, even if IRS able to get a conviction at a huge investment of a criminal prosecutor, since the criminals might already have spent it or use any remaining to hire a defense lawyer.

   Which is better: Boosting about loosing battle against on tax refund fraud that was costing US$ 6.5 billion (may be even more unofficially) or collecting billions of penalties from tax payers living abroad, who want to be law abiding and shockingly learned that they unintentionally broke an obscure law and scared. Taking money from scared law abiding citizens is like taking candy from a child. Why mainlanders care about fairness as long as it is from the other men (because the other men are traitors for being born, raised or living in a foreign land any way).

3. I forget one mention one more point: The expats are telling IRS how much money each expat has in all our banks. But IRS has no idea, how much money left with the tax refund fraud criminals.

4. IRS lags in program to spot tax refund fraud: watchdog

   http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/us-usa-tax-refund-fraud-idINBRE97P0WQ20130826