Miss. Senators Call on IRS to Address Tax Refund Fraud

Press Release

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., today joined a bipartisan group of 15 Senators in calling on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen to update Congress regarding the agency's efforts to prevent tax refund fraud using stolen identities. The effort was led by Wicker and Senator Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

In their letter to Koskinen, the Senators expressed concern that the IRS has yet to devise a comprehensive plan to address the problem, which cost taxpayers $5.2 billion in 2013, according to the Government Accountability Office. The Senators further urged the agency to improve existing safeguards and to make stopping tax refund fraud a top priority.

"Tax fraud directly harms millions of tax-paying Americans who play by the rules," Wicker said. "On top of that, identify theft and stolen refunds undermine confidence in our tax system. The IRS has an obligation to make fraud reduction a top priority, in particular by identifying and holding those accountable who cheat the system by cheating honest taxpayers."

"The IRS needs to assure the American people that it is fighting identity theft and taxpayer refund fraud. If forceful actions are not taken to correct these problems, public trust in this agency will be further eroded," Cochran said.

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