Our earlier post about the first time Homebuyer tax credit — $15,000 Home Buyers Credit Costs $292,000/home — seems to have hit a chord.
What I find astounding are the number of criminals who come out of the closet whenever there is any sort of program like this, in an attempt to defraud the government and taxpayers:
“Tens of thousands of people may have taken advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit to defraud the government, an IRS watchdog office said Thursday, in testimony that could jeopardize efforts to extend the popular program.
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George told a House panel that more than 19,000 people filed 2008 tax returns claiming the credit for homes they had not yet purchased. Russell said his office had identified another $500 million in claims, by some 74,000 taxpayers, where there were indications of prior home ownership.
He told a House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee that they also found 580 taxpayers under the age of 18 who claimed $4 million in first-time home buyer credit. One was 4 years old.”
Unbelievable . . .
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Hat tip Peter B!
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Source:
Homebuyer Tax Credit Scrutinized
JIM ABRAMS
Time, Oct. 22, 2009
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1931677,00.html
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