IRS and TIGTA Testify on Identity Theft before Congress

Last week J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven Miller appeared before Congress to report on the issue of Identity Theft and tax fraud. From Georges testimony a laundry list of issues were presented to the oversight Committee.

Issues included had to do with timely resolution, IRS and Victim communications, process steps for victims returns are not a priority, guidelines for identity theft cases are inconsistent and incomplete. The biggest failing appears to be that the IRS does not use the data from identity theft cases to identify trends.

The issues that US Citizens face, when dealing with an identity theft tax problem, are formidable to say the least.  I have for many years studied these problems from a variety angles, seeking the best way to guide the victim through what is for them a nightmare. The best path is still not always clear because of the different parties involved in resolving the problem. For the victim they have the burden of proving that they are a victim. The IRS employee has the task of evaluating the statements and documents of the victim, trying find the truth from the fiction that maybe assumed facts, erroneous conclusions and just plain confusion on the part of the victim. It is all too easy for someone jump to a wrong conclusion when trying to unravel the different elements of the case, which leads to mistakes by both the victim and the Government.

For more than ten years I worked with victims trying to create a path through the maze of issues that would put the victim and the Government on the same side. That has not come to pass yet. There are a number of ways to address the issues and then format the steps so that they work for both the victims and the IRS, but that will require both groups working together. For the past five years, I have wanted, to sit down with the policy makers from the IRS, to create a program that will help the victim of identity theft, and not be able to be gamed by the perpetrators.

To J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven Miller, I have been hoping to work with the IRS so you would not have to go before Congress and report the ugly state of the problem. The issue of identity theft will not be going away anytime soon. From the stories in the press about the thieves playing the system is only the surface of what is really going on. There is no time like now to put an end to it.