Filing income taxes can be very difficult and many people could use the help of a tax attorney to explain the complicated tax code. A federal watchdog group conducting a independent survey discovered that millions of taxpayers wrongly took the education tax credit.
According to the group, 2.1 million taxpayers took the American Opportunity Tax credit which has taken $3.2 billion in revenue from the IRS. The American Opportunity Tax Credit allows people paying for school tuition and supplies to take make a $2,500 deduction. The tax credit was part of the 2009 stimulus program.
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration plans to release a report which shows that 1.7 million taxpayers received $2.6 billion on tax credits which appear to be erroneous based on IRS records. Many other groups were found to participate in the fraud including prisoners. Individuals who defraud the IRS face an audit and possible litigation, which would necessitate the assistance of a tax lawyer.
The IRS dispute the TIGTA claims. In an interview, Terry Lemons spokesman for the IRS said, “We understand that there will be incorrect claims and we will take steps to correct them.” He further stated, “We think it’s misleading for the TIGTA to say that the problems are of this scope.”
Tax fraud is not uncommon and there are numerous people who either evade or avoid paying their tax bills. When the authorities discover any type of tax fraud they will tenaciously pursue these individuals or companies and only a tax attorney is capable of helping with these allegations.
