Oversight Subcommittee Examines Tax Identity Theft

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least 20,000 taxpayers have had their tax refunds stolen right out from under them and that number continues to grow, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Every year millions of dollars of tax refunds are paid out to identity thieves who file for a tax return using a stolen name and social security number. Taxpayers victimized by this fraud often find out only after they have legitimately filed their tax return. More than a dozen citizens of the 19th Congressional District have reported being victims of such tax fraud.

The Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management, chaired by U.S. Congressman Todd Platts (PA-19) will examine the rapidly growing problem at a hearing this Thursday. The subcommittee will hear from three victims of the identity theft, as well as officials from GAO and the IRS.

“This hearing was prompted by complaints from several of my constituents who were victimized by such identify theft and tax fraud as well as subsequent media reports which have demonstrated that similar cases are happening all across the country, said Platts. “Given GAO’s extensive reporting on the insufficient internal controls at IRS, we want to know why this problem is apparently getting much worse.  By bringing these issues to the public as quickly as possible, the committee hopes to give citizens the necessary information so they can protect themselves from such identify theft.”

The hearing details are below. If you would like to cover the hearing and receive additional information, including advanced witness testimony, please contact Robert Reilly at bob.reilly@mail.house.gov.

Title: IRS E-File and Identify Theft
Date/Time: 12:30 p.m. on Thursday June 2nd, 2011
Location: 2247 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Witnesses
• Ms. Lori Petraco, Victim of Tax Fraud, Resident of York County, Pennsylvania
• Ms. Lavonda Thompson, Victim of Tax Fraud, Resident of York County, Pennsylvania
• Ms. Sharon Hawa, Victim of Tax Fraud, Resident of the Bronx, New York
• Mr. Jim White, Director of Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office
• Mr. Douglas H. Shulman, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Internal Revenue Service
• Ms. Beth Tucker, Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support, Internal Revenue Service