$14.5 B Tax Refunds Issued By "error"

Well, TITGA said "error" but reality is "fraud"

Full Report


(emphasis implied)

I'm sure that people here are going to defend the government in saying that these payments were in "good faith error" and that they will be corrected, but we all know that a majority (I would go further and say nearly all of these "errors") were from fraudulent filings.

Even the IRS classifies these filings as due to fraud

The main question is, why are people defending the government on various issues like the spending bill or immigration, when it can't even handle it's own internal controls (that is supposed to prevent this type of fraud from occurring in the first place!)...

the real question is how much $$ would be lost from rioting/looting if they got their system to effectively prevent it

What's the real point in the EITC anyway?

"Thank you for not being on welfare, here's a small check for your troubles!"

If you are given $25k+ per year to not have a job, or make $15k a year doing menial labor and get a $1k check from the government for having a job (limited by if you are married and/or have kids), which are you going to do?

You don't solve problems by throwing money at it!

but you make people think they feel better.....

The EITC and ACTC are extremely effective forms of economic stimulus.

true...

Excuse my rampant laughter.

But care to explain why you think so?

Seriously, I can't believe people [+] that stuff.

I'm sure that the "Keynesian Economic Theory" will be thrown out there some point in the discussion. Too bad the theory doesn't play well to reality...

My life's dream is to have a brood of kids to call me own !

The month after tax returns is a boom month for retail, you think black Friday, does not even come close. If low income families all got their refunds on the same day it would be renamed Green insert day of week.

If you think its only $1000 then lmfao.

The sheer ignorance + idiocy in some of these threads makss for some serious lulz.

*grabs some jerky, popcorn sucks, and waits for some educated responses*

Keynesian economics I prefer Liberian economics.

If EITC was the only refund available, then you may have a point.

However, a vast majority of refunds were from overpayments of the current year taxes. In other words, if you paid in $6k in taxes and only owed $5k, the government isn't giving out a stimulus check to you in the amount of $1k, you just overpaid $1k throughout the entire year.

Large refunds are just another sign of bad planning on people's parts, especially those who's only income are from W-2s.

I'm sure you understand the concept of an "example" and you are just trolling. If you didn't, maybe next time, when people use rounding numbers (for example (*shock*): when somebody says $25k, that's usually a sign of a rounding example (*shock*)), you would realize that people are using those numbers for example purposes.

But for your information: IRS estimates that per refundable credit averages out between $2k-3k (estimate example (*shock*))

If you don't want to see ignorance, then stop posting, that will cut out the majority of ignorance right off the bat.

I cannot wait for my $14.5 billion check. Where do I sign up?

I have extra money taken out of my pay to cover my tax liability in cases of fluctuating pay that my job has. I also have children and claim single 0 on taxes. Just smart play.

It's been claimed that putting money in the pockets of the lowest income people has increasing returns in economic growth.

In any case, the cost incurred by more carefully vetting the tax returns of the lowest income brackets would probably exceed the amount paid out wrongly. I still hate the idea of anyone being able to get more back than their total with-holdings for the year.

The real joke is how better off economic sectors would be if the money given out in tax credits have never been sucked out as taxes in the first place.

It's not real smart to alwyas have the govenment paying you a refund. Taking that excess withholding out of your check and stuffing it into a savings account is a much better plan. You want to pay the government every year, not have them pay you.

This Jerky is tasty.
your post is mildly filled with the lulz.

Just to show you your ignorance. The EITC and ACTC have nothing to do with your refund, they are separate. But hey you are a genuine tax pro.

That is largely due to people choosing the wrong with-holdings in the first place. I tend to take lower with-holdings than I think I need because I despise the idea of letting the government hold onto my money for a year and use it without paying me interest. I can put the money in interest bearing savings or invest it and get more out of it than they ever would. I've had to pay in minimal amounts as often as I've received refunds, and I don't think I've ever been more than $500 off my actual liabilities either direction.

Many people rather be out the .25% interest or the loss of income from a few hundred / thousand dollars, then end up owing and not have it. When you are talking about low income households, which is what EITC and ACTC are in place for, a $100 tax bill right after Christmas time could be devastating. Also many file single 0 because that's what they were "Told" to do, either way it is not a huge loss, as someone in the under 30k/yr bracket would not receive any kind of substantial return from their refund alone.

A lot of that is just due to HR personnel giving advice they shouldn't and people not seeking actual financial or tax advice. There's been plenty of years I didn't make much more than 30K and still chose to handle my taxes and savings in that manner. Regardless of the returns, if I end up with enough more to buy a latte at the end of the year, I consider it a success. A penny saved, and all that jazz...

I'm not a fan of overpaying the government and letting them hold onto money that should go right into my pocket either but advising someone to put their money in a savings acount is basically the same as telling em to hide it under their bed these days with the ***interest rates.

Putting in a savings account is pretty much taking it out of the governments hands and letting a bank make money off your money and you get fractions of pennies on the dollar.

If you have enough to settle up a nice savings account you should make your money work for you instead unless you just want a safe place to hold it for you.

if you are earing 30K a year you likely do not have enough resoruces to matter.

Well, the availability of credit is tied to the amount of capital a bank has to loan. Putting money in a savings account is always better than putting it under your mattress, even if the interest is near zero.

aside from your $500 dollar helping the world lending economy...

It will help your credit score a little to have a checking and savings, also you get a pretty atm card that you can personalize with pictures of Moogles.

but back on topic, these 2 programs offer credits not refunds.

Depends. 30k a year in the right environment with a budget can allow you to save some money up.

If you're living paycheck to paycheck all of your money is likely going into your checking account to pay bills anyways and you'll end up making no money off a savings account anyways. If you're looking for a safe place to stash your loot and make an extra dollar a year then ok. Personally Id just stash all my money in a checking account and only have to worry about one account then. Never having to worry about transferring funds to keep minimum balances or overcharges on either.

In any case just read the last line of my previous post.

I'm going to start gambling on the stock market, I think.

Wasn't directed at you just quoted Jas' post, but yeah a single dependent individual can put money away when earning only 30K depending on where they live, etc.

But back to the OP.

I would really love an inciteful post dealing with EITC and ACTC. This white wash basic tax speak is boring. King? really I was hoping after your scathing reply you would be schooling me on this here topic.

*is almost out of Jerky* /sadpanda

Strange, I'm not the one who made that assertion.

You did.


So, in other words, did you just insult yourself?