1Urging the Department of Corrections to enter into a memorandum
2of understanding (MOU) with the Internal Revenue Service to
3address the ongoing problem of incarcerated individuals
4filing fraudulent tax returns and receiving a refund.

5WHEREAS, Recent news reports have highlighted cases in which 
6prisoners filed fraudulent tax returns and subsequently received 
7illegal refunds; and

8WHEREAS, The Treasury Inspector General for Tax 
9Administration (TIGTA) issued a 2010 report outlining the scope 
10of this growing problem; and

11WHEREAS, The TIGTA reported that about 88% of the 287,918 tax
12returns identified as filed by prisoners were not selected for
13screening; and

14WHEREAS, An estimated 48,887 prisoners who filed tax returns
15had no wage information reported by employers; and

16WHEREAS, Despite this lack of information, these prisoners
17claimed refunds totaling more than $130 million, including
18Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) claims of $78.5 million; and

1WHEREAS, The report recommended that legislation be enacted
2on the Federal level to expand Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
3access to the Department of Health and Human Services wage
4information; and

5WHEREAS, Current law allows only the IRS to access National
6Directory of New Hires (NDNH) wage information for tax returns
7in which the individual is claiming EITC; and

8WHEREAS, Legislation has been repeatedly proposed in the
9Congress of the United States to expand IRS access to NDNH wage
10data without success; and

11WHEREAS, States such as New York, Minnesota and Florida have 
12entered MOU agreements with the IRS in an effort to minimize 
13fraudulent tax claims filed by prisoners through information 
14sharing since legislation has stalled on the Federal level; 
15therefore be it

16RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the
17Department of Corrections to enter into a memorandum of
18understanding (MOU) agreement with the Internal Revenue Service
19to address the ongoing problem of incarcerated individuals
20filing fraudulent tax returns and receiving a refund.