Homebuyer Fraud?...

The numbers are starting to come in from the recent "Government assistance" program where "eligible" first-time home buyers were able to get $8,000 credit that also could be turned into a check from the IRS...

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The problem being that there is always abuse to government programs like this and this program is no different. Kevin Hassett over at Bloomberg.com has some interesting information and data that shows how yet another government program is being abused and how this form of "Stimulus" will cost the honest taxpayer in the end...

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"At issue was a credit for first-time homebuyers enacted in 2008 and significantly expanded in this year’s plan to jumpstart the economy. It gives a refund from Uncle Sam of 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, up to $8,000. The credit is refundable, so individuals who owed no tax at all could receive a tidy $8,000 check from the Internal Revenue Service."

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One of the problems being that nobody was checking to see if the "first time buyers" were actually first time and if they were eligible for this program.

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"That’s right: Congress passed a law that made it possible to have the IRS mail you a check for $8,000 if you claimed you were a first-time homebuyer. That’s all you had to do -- assert that you deserved the credit. The IRS didn’t require you to provide proof that your claim was genuine before your check was put in the mail. Sound like a recipe for fraud?"

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How easy was it to make a claim for credit?

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"Did you forget to buy a house before claiming the credit? Not a problem. “We identified more than 19,300 electronically filed 2008 tax returns on which taxpayers claimed the First-Time Homebuyer Credit for a home which had not yet been purchased,” reported J. Russell George, the U.S. Treasury inspector general for tax administration, who testified about his department’s investigation."

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Maybe this was just a paperwork mistake? These people did not have the chance to close on the house yet but wanted to start the claim procedure right away? People would not take advantage of another government "hand-out" program and abuse the honest taxpayer would they?

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"Were you unable to purchase a home because you haven’t finished preschool and don’t know how to read the forms? Not a problem. George cited the “more than 580 taxpayers younger than 18 years of age who claimed almost $4 million in First-Time Homebuyer Credits. The youngest taxpayers receiving the credit were 4-years-old.”...

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Remember those $2,500 debit cards the government was handing out without keeping track of who was eligible or how many times they took in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina?...

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You really want these guys running your healthcare program and taxing you to make it "fair" for everybody?...