Unemployed Man Files (And Gets!) $1.5M Tax Refund
from the now-that-takes-guts dept
Now here's a great "post-tax-day" story. An unemployed worker in NY apparently filed a completely bogus tax return saying he was owed a refund of $1.5 million dollars - and the IRS gave it to him. The scam was only uncovered when the guy's bank (where the money was directly deposited) became curious - since the account averaged approximately $2,000 before the $1,500,000 deposit showed up. Apparently, the guy forged a W2 from a place he had worked as a temp (which later went out of business) saying he had earned $9 million in salary, and paid out $3 million in taxes.
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now that's funny, or not, depending...
I read this and thought it was funny. I laughed real hard, to the point it sobered me up. If the IRS can make a mistake like this, is this the only one?
I doubt it.
And what happens when the mistake is the Other way around? It used to be that you could not cross-examine an IRS employee on the stand, now you can. But does that mean they will "own up" and confess a mistake if it means their job?
Not likely.
Every time I see stuff like this I have to ponder a sales tax replacement for income tax. Someday I may even do something about it. Like most of my peers, I'm lazy about it. But I at least know how much I paid in taxes last year, most people do not.
This time of the year I hear things like "I didn't pay anyhting, I got a refund for $150 this year" more often than makes me comfortable.
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