When it comes to taxes, things can become complicated
quickly, including a tax debt case. Thieves posing as the IRS or FBI ask people
to hand over their back taxes immediately to avoid arrest, and the threat seems
to work because thousands of dollars were recovered from such a scheme in
Edison, New Jersey. The thieves usually target old couples, immigrants, and the
uneducated. How the thieves know who owes back taxes hasn’t been discovered yet
but it is suspected that it might involve identity theft.
If you face a situation such as this, call Special Agent
John McBride of the U.S. Department of Treasury at 732-418-3909 or call the
police.
According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration, tax fraud has grown substantially in the recent years. From
456,000 cases in 2009, the cases of tax fraud have risen to 1.9 million in
2013. The sharp increase in tax fraud has made fraud a subject of hearing by
the House Oversight and Government Reform, a subcommittee on government
operations.
Among all tax scams, identity theft topped the charts on the
IRS' Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2013, as the most common tax scam faced by
American taxpayers. The IRS complains of a lack of resources. However, the
agency has 21 units to handle tax fraud. According to IRS Acting Commissioner
Danny Werfel, the IRS has produced 785 indictments of tax fraud through June.
In 2013, more than 4.6 million suspicious tax returns were discovered and
rejected.
It is the responsibility of the government to protect its
citizens, but the shifting responsibility between the IRS and the government
ultimately affects taxpayers. It is advisable that when it comes to tax fraud, taxpayers
must protect themselves.