PRINTER'S NO. 1307
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
229
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY KORTZ, LONGIETTI, JAMES, SAMUELSON, WARD, BAKER,
NEILSON, MILLARD, A. HARRIS, GABLER, BENNINGHOFF, McNEILL,
READSHAW, MILNE, D. COSTA, GILLEN, PASHINSKI, DUSH, SAYLOR,
RADER AND BOBACK, APRIL 10, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, APRIL 10, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Department of Corrections to enter into a Memorandum
of Understanding with the Internal Revenue Service to address
the ongoing problem of incarcerated individuals filing
fraudulent tax returns and receiving a refund.
WHEREAS, Recent news reports have highlighted cases in which
prisoners filed fraudulent tax returns and subsequently received
illegal refunds; and
WHEREAS, The Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration (TIGTA) issued a 2010 report outlining the scope
of this growing problem; and
WHEREAS, TIGTA reported that approximately 88% of the 287,918
tax returns identified as being filed by prisoners were not
selected for screening; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 48,887 prisoners who filed tax returns
had no wage information reported by employers; and
WHEREAS, Despite this lack of information, these prisoners
claimed refunds totaling more than $130 million, including
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) claims of $78.5 million; and
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WHEREAS, The report recommended that legislation be enacted
on the Federal level to expand Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
access to the Department of Health and Human Services wage
information; and
WHEREAS, Current law allows the Secretary of the Treasury to
access the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) wage
information only for tax returns in which the individual is
claiming EITC and for verifying employment claims in tax
returns; and
WHEREAS, Legislation has been repeatedly proposed in the
Congress of the United States to expand IRS access to NDNH wage
data without success; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the
Department of Corrections to enter into a Memorandum of
Understanding agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to
address the ongoing problem of incarcerated individuals filing
fraudulent tax returns and receiving a refund.
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