Non resident alien - dependent exemptions???

[kcjenkins]

"it is not a criminal act, any more than underpaying taxes is. "

Tell that to the many people in prison right now for failing to pay their taxes. While it's true that the mere failure to file or pay does not, in itself, make one a criminal. The IRS must allege and the Court must find that the failure to file or pay was done with the deliberate intent to defraud the government. But that is a small step, in many cases.

[JohnH]

And on the other side of the equation we have greedy cynics who are perfectly willing to use the power of the state to forcibly take what one person has earned and give it to another whom they deem more deserving, thereby buying their votes in the process. Looks like there's plenty of greed to go around on all sides.

[Guest Taxed]

As long as we have incremental tax rates one side will always say that the Govt is forcibly taking from them to give to someone at the lower end of the scale. That is human nature!

In my state we have a flat tax rate and still people at the upper income level complain that they are paying for people at the bottom end. So Ted Cruz and other's proposal for a flat tax will not get rid of this particular argument.

[kcjenkins]

http://watchdog.org/92191/virginia-address-gets-in-on-unauthorized-irs-refund-bonanza/

FREDERICKSBURG – The Internal Revenue Service sent $163,711 in refunds to a single Parksley, Va., address, where 100 individual tax identification numbers were issued by the agency. Forty-eight tax returns were filed at the address, according to a Treasury Inspector General’s investigation. The tiny Accomack County town has just 842 residents. And that was far from the most bizarre.

The IRS sent 23,994 tax refunds worth a combined $46,378,040 to “unauthorized” alien workers who all used the same Atlanta address in 2011, according to a CNS News report. Additionally, the IRS sent 11,284 refunds worth a combined $2,164,976 to unauthorized alien workers at a second Atlanta address; 3,608 worth $2,691,448 to a third; and 2,386 worth $1,232,943 to a fourth.

Rounding out the IG’s Top Ten list for singular addresses were Oxnard, Calif., where the IRS sent 2,507 refunds worth $10,395,874; Raleigh, N.C., 2,408 refunds worth $7,284,212; Phoenix, Ariz., 2,047 refunds worth $5,558,608; Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 1,972 refunds worth $2,256,302; San Jose, Calif., 1,942 refunds worth $5,091,027; and Arvin, Calif., 1,846 refunds worth $3,298,877.

Resurfacing amid congressional debate over immigration reform, the 2012 IG report reiterated concerns raised by government auditors back in 1999.

[joanmcq]

And so the EITC claims were being reviewed this year and people howled. You can have fast 'refunds' or accurate refunds. Either way one side or the other will find reason for complaint.

[JohnH]

Wonder how many of those addresses were prisons. ??

I'm betting the NC Central Prison in Raleigh was where the 2,408 NC refunds went.

[Guest Taxed]

So let's assume the IRS sends a refund check to the prison addressed to a detainee or prisoner. Don't the guards look at the mail before handing it to them? You would think the IRS has already alerted every prison in America??

I think IRS should reprogram their system to immediately flag any refund checks going to any prison system.

[Jack from Ohio]

Most likely the refunds were direct deposited into a recently opened account. As soon as all the money was there, the account was closed. Since it take the IRS a year to find W-2 and 1099 forms, the crooks have plenty of time...

[Lion EA]

Isn't there a prison in Oxnard, CA?

[kcjenkins]

• Oxnard Prison | Prison in Oxnard, CA - YP.com

  www.yellowpages.com/oxnard-ca/prison

  47 listings of Correctional Facilities in Oxnard on YP.com. Find reviews, directions & phone numbers for the best prison inOxnard, CA.

[kcjenkins]

But no, I don't think any tax refunds are allowed to go to prison addresses. However, if the prisoner uses his home address, or if a scammer or crooked preparer uses their own address to file for them, that is another thing entirely.

[Don in Upstate NY]

But no, I don't think any tax refunds are allowed to go to prison addresses. However, if the prisoner uses his home address, or if a scammer or crooked preparer uses their own address to file for them, that is another thing entirely.

Once again, the Korean Trade Act comes to the rescue. The same law that increaded the EIC due-diligence penalty to $500 also takes care of prisoners' claims. From the EOB analysis ...

S. 1642 also would require prisons located in the United States to provide the names and

Social Security Numbers of all inmates serving sentences longer than one year to the

Internal Revenue Service for tax administration purposes. JCT estimates that this change

would increase revenues by $122 million over the 2012-2021 period.

Of course this pales in comparison with the revenue produced by the EIC penalty [$197 million], but every million counts.

[kcjenkins]

The rap singer known as “Fat Joe” has been sentenced to four months in prison for failing to file income tax returns on more than $3.3 million in taxable income.

Cartagena admitted he received gross income of over $1.18 million in 2007, more than $1.28 million in 2008, over $265,000 in 2009, and more than $630,000 in 2010. The total tax loss to the government was $718,038.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Waldor sentenced Cartagena to one year of supervised release and fined him $15,000. He must report by Aug. 26, 2013, to begin serving his sentence.

[Jack from Ohio]

There is a difference between "failure to file" and "failure to pay."

Failure to pay does not get any jail time. It is not a criminal offense.

Failure to file or filing fraudulent returns are both criminal offenses and you can get jail time.

Show me an example of someone in jail for only "failure to pay" and I will believe your earlier statement.

[Guest Taxed]

The rap singer known as “Fat Joe” has been sentenced to four months in prison for failing to file income tax returns on more than $3.3 million in taxable income.

Cartagena admitted he received gross income of over $1.18 million in 2007, more than $1.28 million in 2008, over $265,000 in 2009, and more than $630,000 in 2010. The total tax loss to the government was $718,038.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Waldor sentenced Cartagena to one year of supervised release and fined him $15,000. He must report by Aug. 26, 2013, to begin serving his sentence.

I presume he did not engage the services of a CPA when he was grossing over million a year?

Wonder what his excuse was at trial?