As Americans marked Tax Day on April 17, the U.S. House of Representatives approved bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) to protect taxpayers from identity theft.
“As we conclude the 2017 tax filing season this Tax Day, it’s fitting the House is taking steps to strengthen protections for taxpayers against identity theft,” Rep. Paulsen said. “It’s a scam that victimized more than 13,000 Minnesota taxpayers in 2015 alone, many of whom don’t even realize they’ve been targeted until they go to file their own legitimate return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).”
In response to the scourge of taxpayer identity theft, Rep. Paulsen and U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) introduced H.R. 5437 on April 9. The measure would expand the IRS’s Identity Protection (IP) Personal Identification Number (PIN) program, which currently operates on a pilot basis in Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C. The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee approved the bill on April 11, setting the stage for full House approval on April 17.
“This legislation means more peace of mind for taxpayers – particularly seniors – and less time spent untangling the mess of fraud,” Rep. Paulsen said.
The bill would accomplish that by directing the U.S. Treasury Secretary to make the IP PIN program available to taxpayers across the country. The optional program provides a six-digit PIN number for taxpayers to enter when filing taxes, creating an added layer of verification to protect against identity theft.
“One thing we know for certain is that criminals are getting smarter, and the IRS needs to keep up,” Rep. DelBene said. “Providing these kinds of enhanced security measures is a common sense step to ensure people’s identities are protected. This is a win for families, seniors and small businesses owners, who deserve some peace of mind when it comes time to file their tax returns.”
In the first two months of the 2016 tax filing system, the IRS red flagged more than 32,000 fraudulent returns. The Government Accountability Office estimates that scammers attempted to claim more than $14.5 billion in the 2015 tax year alone across the country.
“For a criminal, the scam is simple: steal a taxpayer’s Social Security Number, file a fraudulent claim in their name and then collect the refund,” Rep. Paulsen said during the April 11 committee hearing. “For the taxpayer, unwinding this mess is far tougher. It’s a crime that hits seniors, frequently victimized without their knowledge, particularly hard. Expanding access to IP PINs will strengthen protections against identity theft.”