The $16 Billion Tax-Credit Black Hole
President Obama and GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan want to expand it. Tax preparation companies and illegal immigrants are cashing in on it. Fraudsters have found bottomless ways to exploit it.
The earned income tax credit, a bipartisan-supported “anti-poverty” benefit, is robbing honest, law-abiding Americans blind. Originally intended to help low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples with children, the refundable tax credit has ballooned into a massive welfare entitlement for politically correct constituents who pay no income taxes — yet are still eligible for payouts.
According to a new report from the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration, a whopping 23.8 percent of EITC payments, worth an estimated $15.6 billion, were issued improperly in fiscal year 2015 alone. The Office of Management and Budget singled out the $69 billion federal cash transfer program as “high risk”. (It’s the only IRS program that carries the designation)...
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