can illegals receive tax refunds?

[strollingbones]

i dont know if this is true or not...but a friend of mine said illegals can receive a tax refund..seems they can go to a special office and get a number to file with?


this article seems to confirm this....but i am still not sure...anyone know for sure?

Center for Immigration Studies

created an official U.S. tax number that illegal aliens are using as identification, thereby making it easier for them to meld unnoticed into our society;


endangered homeland security by issuing ITINs to illegal aliens, without adequately ensuring that they are denied to terrorists, criminals on the FBI database, and those under deportation notices;



the article implies the irs helps circumvent the need for a valid ss number and allow illegals to collect tax refunds.

 

[KittenKoder]

The purpose of the tax numbers is so they can pay taxes on their income, like the rest of us, however it is possible they could abuse it since the system doesn't offer them a permanent number.

 

[catzmeow]

Most people who are working illegally in this country are being paid in cash, under the table. However, identity theft is a HUGE issue with illegal immigrants, who steal a social security number so they can get a job, and then cause untold harm to the victim of their theft.

Can you imagine the pain in the ass it would be to tangle with the IRS over earnings you never made because someone is fraudulently using your SSN?

 

[KittenKoder]

Most people who are working illegally in this country are being paid in cash, under the table. However, identity theft is a HUGE issue with illegal immigrants, who steal a social security number so they can get a job, and then cause untold harm to the victim of their theft.

Can you imagine the pain in the ass it would be to tangle with the IRS over earnings you never made because someone is fraudulently using your SSN?

Yep ... and yep. Border patrols and such won't help though, sadly. In reality we need to stop "temporarily" relieving them of their crimes and start going after the governments they are coming from as well as deporting them all and severing all their connections to our country (even those born here from illegal parents). Hold off all legal immigration until these other governments start helping. It will hurt us for a moment, but in the long run we will be able to reopen legal immigration as well as rebuild our own job market.

 

[Ravi]

I don't know if anyone is getting a refund, but apparently millions of undocumented workers are paying into the system using these ITIN numbers. The IRS isn't concerned with citizenship...it is only concerned with collecting income tax owed.

Here's a good article on how and why illegals file income tax returns.

At tax time, illegal immigrants are paying too - Tax Tactics- msnbc.com

 

[Agnapostate]

Most people who are working illegally in this country are being paid in cash, under the table. However, identity theft is a HUGE issue with illegal immigrants, who steal a social security number so they can get a job, and then cause untold harm to the victim of their theft.

Can you imagine the pain in the ass it would be to tangle with the IRS over earnings you never made because someone is fraudulently using your SSN?

They don't consciously "steal" social security numbers. They typically use fake ones which may or may not belong to another person. Using fake ones which belong to no one, however, puts quite a significant amount of revenue in governmental coffers because no one can redeem the benefits. Of course, the obvious solution would be to seek amnesty for illegal immigrants so as to facilitate their integration into the formal labor market and enhance their ability to secure wage increases...but that would make too much sense.

 

[LilOlLady]

They receive the tax credit and some are receiving refunds they are not entitled.

 

[LilOlLady]

IRS Gives Illegal Aliens Billions In Refunds

The Internal Revenue Service has allowed more than one million foreigners—many in the U.S. illegally—to improperly claim tax credits that they don’t qualify for and it will end up costing the government close to $9 billion.
The best part is that the IRS knowingly permitted the exorbitant tax credits even though workers did not provide valid Social Security numbers on their returns, but rather the alternative Tax Identification Number (TIN) popular among illegal immigrants but not valid to work in the U.S.

Furthermore, the IRS allows companies that employ foreigners to file taxes using TINs—rather than the required Social Security—even though the law forbids it. A lengthy report, made public this week by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, lays out the gory details of how the tax agency’s negligence rewards law breakers and deprives the nation of crucial funds.

In one year alone, the IRS allowed nearly 300,000 U.S. companies to illegally report wages—of employees without valid Social Security numbers—totaling $9.5 billion. This in turn led the government to issue nearly $2 billion in illegal child tax credits to ineligible foreigners, many of them illegal aliens not authorized to earn wages in the U.S.

The inspector general points out that this creates an obvious problem since the payment of federal funds through this tax benefit provides an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside and work in the U.S. without authorization, which contradicts federal law and policy to remove such incentives.

The IRS has for years accommodated illegal immigrants, by creating the special TINs for foreigners about a decade ago and subsequently allowing millions to illegally file income taxes with the special numbers. For years the tax agency has looked the other way even after discovering millions of W-2 forms with names that don’t match a Social Security number.

 

[Luissa]

Most people who are working illegally in this country are being paid in cash, under the table. However, identity theft is a HUGE issue with illegal immigrants, who steal a social security number so they can get a job, and then cause untold harm to the victim of their theft.

Can you imagine the pain in the ass it would be to tangle with the IRS over earnings you never made because someone is fraudulently using your SSN?

yeah actually I do know what a pain in the ass it is especially when you find out three years later. And the only reason I found out someone was using my SS to work a few years ago was because I had to go to court over child support. I would suggest everyone get a record of every job they have, you probably can get one through your city or SS office. They just sent me a print out of every job I held since I was eighteen. They didn't even use my last name so it wasn't hard to prove but of course they did not pay taxes on the money they earned.

 

[Ravi]

IRS Gives Illegal Aliens Billions In Refunds

The Internal Revenue Service has allowed more than one million foreigners—many in the U.S. illegally—to improperly claim tax credits that they don’t qualify for and it will end up costing the government close to $9 billion.
The best part is that the IRS knowingly permitted the exorbitant tax credits even though workers did not provide valid Social Security numbers on their returns, but rather the alternative Tax Identification Number (TIN) popular among illegal immigrants but not valid to work in the U.S.

Furthermore, the IRS allows companies that employ foreigners to file taxes using TINs—rather than the required Social Security—even though the law forbids it. A lengthy report, made public this week by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, lays out the gory details of how the tax agency’s negligence rewards law breakers and deprives the nation of crucial funds.

In one year alone, the IRS allowed nearly 300,000 U.S. companies to illegally report wages—of employees without valid Social Security numbers—totaling $9.5 billion. This in turn led the government to issue nearly $2 billion in illegal child tax credits to ineligible foreigners, many of them illegal aliens not authorized to earn wages in the U.S.

The inspector general points out that this creates an obvious problem since the payment of federal funds through this tax benefit provides an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside and work in the U.S. without authorization, which contradicts federal law and policy to remove such incentives.

The IRS has for years accommodated illegal immigrants, by creating the special TINs for foreigners about a decade ago and subsequently allowing millions to illegally file income taxes with the special numbers. For years the tax agency has looked the other way even after discovering millions of W-2 forms with names that don’t match a Social Security number.

Though you didn't link it, the report you are talking about states that you cannot and do not get earned income tax credits if you file with an ITIN. Try again.

Also, you can eliminate these workers if you wish, but 9.6 billion is a lot of tax money to throw down the toilet because some of it gets refunded.

btw, plagiarism is frowned upon.