Curbelo, Graham Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Protect Taxpayers, Prevent Fraud

Press Release

The notion of one's identity being stolen is cause for grave concern, but unfortunately this is becoming far too common in our country, specifically in Florida. Tax-related identity theft occurs when an individual uses the Social Security number of another to file a false tax return to obtain an unauthorized refund. As part of the effort to reduce fraudulent returns and notify taxpayers of potential identity theft threats, Reps. Carlos Curbelo (FL-26) and Gwen Graham (FL-02) have introduced the Taxpayer Identity Protection and Alert Act of 2016.

This legislation simply requires the IRS Commissioner to report to Congress on the feasibility of alerting taxpayers that their returns have been filed and recommendations as to how to create the appropriate infrastructure.

"According to a recent report by the Treasury Department, federal income tax return fraud in South Florida is 46 times the national average. This bill will help to reduce the amount of fraud that we see in our communities throughout the country by exploring tools that the IRS can use to combat fraudulent activity. We are paying billions of taxpayer dollars every year to criminals who file returns with stolen identities. It is imperative that we combat this fraud and reduce identity theft," said Curbelo.

"We have an obligation to do everything we can to help Floridians, especially vulnerable seniors, from becoming the victims of identity theft. This commonsense, bipartisan legislation could help us add an extra layer of security to fight fraud and save tax dollars," said Graham.

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