IRS honcho John Koskinen confirmed amnestied illegal aliens would be eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for work performed while illegal even if they had not filed a U.S. tax return.
Koskinen confirmed the loophole in a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) who asked the IRS chieftain for clarification of the IRS’s position on the EITC in light of President Barack Obama’s executive action on amnesty.
Back in February, Koskinen said that in order to claim the tax credits the amnestied illegal immigrant would have had to have filed returns in the past.
In his written statement to Grassley, released Wednesday, Koskinen went another step, saying an illegal immigrant granted amnesty could claim back tax credits regardless if they had filed returns in the past.
“To clarify my earlier comments on EITC, not only can an individual amend a prior year return to claim EITC, but an individual who did not file a prior year return may file a return and claim EITC (subject to refund limitations under section 6511 of the Internal Revenue Code). I would note that filing new returns for prior years would likely be difficult, since filers would have to reconstruct earnings and other records for years when they were not able to work on the books,” Koskinen said in his written response.
According to the IRS, illegal immigrants granted amnesty, and with it Social Security numbers, can claim up to three years prior in back tax credits.
“Section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code requires an SSN on the return, but a taxpayer claiming the EITC is not required to have an SSN before the close of the year for which the EITC is claimed. At your request, the IRS has reviewed the relevant statutes and legislative history, and we believe that the 2000 Chief Counsel Advice (CCA) on this issue is correct,” Koskinen added.
According to the Joint Committee on Taxation 800,000 illegal aliens would be eligible for this tax giveaway leaving taxpayers on the hook for more than $2 billion.
An American citizen who doesn’t file a tax return is “deported” to jail. An illegal alien who doesn’t file a tax return is handed $2 billion in taxpayer dollars.
