Casey’s homebuyer tax credit fraud prevention provisions included
WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today applauded Senate passage of legislation to extend unemployment insurance for laid-off workers who have exhausted their benefits, to expand and extend the homebuyer tax credit and provide relief to businesses with operating losses. The legislation must now be reconciled with the House before being sent to the president.
“This legislation will provide up to an additional 20 weeks of help to Pennsylvania’s long-term unemployed and it will help provide economic relief to the housing market and to home buyers,” said Senator Casey. “The unemployment insurance extension has been needlessly delayed while more workers lose their benefits. After today’s passage by the Senate, I hope the Congress can quickly finalize this bill and send it to President Obama.”
The bill passed by the Senate included language from Senator Casey’s legislation that would add protections and increase oversight to prevent fraud in the homebuyer tax credit program.
Senator Casey continued, “I am pleased anti-fraud language from my legislation was included so that we can stop some of the fraud in the original homebuyer tax credit that was detailed in a recent Treasury Department Inspector General report.”
Specifically, language from Senator Casey’s legislation included in the final bill would require taxpayers:
• To be 18 years of age to claim the credit;
• To not otherwise be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another tax return; and
• To submit their settlement statement with their tax returns.
The Treasury Department Inspector General report found that 1.4 million people claimed the tax credit. It also found 167 suspected schemes and over 100,000 individual cases that require examination.
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