Chat
02-16-2015, 02:32 PM
"Earlier this month, just as tax season was nearing its peak, 19 states and Intuit — the maker of TurboTax software — noticed a surge of fraudulent state-tax filings prepared with TurboTax. The company responded by suspending electronic transmission of state returns for about 24 hours on Feb. 5 and 6.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working to determine who was behind the filings, and if they used illegally obtained personal data to secure bogus refunds. There are signs the fraud also may involve federal returns, say experts and some taxpayers."
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fraud-a...2015-02-16
Commentary:
This was THE main headline on CNBC today (markets are closed for the holiday). But I have some questions that probably very few people have picked up on...
1. Exactly how much money does it take for the FBI to "work to determine who was behind the filings," especially since they'll never find them more than likely? I would really like to know who many filings were submitted, how much they were for, and then the grand total. Then, I'd like to compare how much money it costs to track all this stuff down, apply coding and security, make decisions, analyze the reports, all the staff meetings, etc. My guess (and it's only a hypothesis) is that the fix costs much more than the fraud.
AND SO,
2. Aren't we ready for a constitutional tax system? It's so obvious why this absurdly confusing and complicated tax code is still the going framework: Because certain people profit off it. That's really the gist.
Tax weary; I know it's not just me.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working to determine who was behind the filings, and if they used illegally obtained personal data to secure bogus refunds. There are signs the fraud also may involve federal returns, say experts and some taxpayers."
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fraud-a...2015-02-16
Commentary:
This was THE main headline on CNBC today (markets are closed for the holiday). But I have some questions that probably very few people have picked up on...
1. Exactly how much money does it take for the FBI to "work to determine who was behind the filings," especially since they'll never find them more than likely? I would really like to know who many filings were submitted, how much they were for, and then the grand total. Then, I'd like to compare how much money it costs to track all this stuff down, apply coding and security, make decisions, analyze the reports, all the staff meetings, etc. My guess (and it's only a hypothesis) is that the fix costs much more than the fraud.
AND SO,
2. Aren't we ready for a constitutional tax system? It's so obvious why this absurdly confusing and complicated tax code is still the going framework: Because certain people profit off it. That's really the gist.
Tax weary; I know it's not just me.