A new report from the IRS’s Inspector General found the tax agency doled out $5.6 billion in questionable tax credits for one of Obama’s 2009 stimulus programs.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit was created as part of President Obama’s so-called “stimulus” program and was only supposed to run until 2010. Congress extended the program through 2017. As with most government programs, especially those created by the hurriedly-enacted “stimulus”, it is a cess pool of mismanagement and waste.
More than 3.8 million students received more than $5.6 billion in questionable tax credits, the audit found — more than half of those never filed their tuition statement, while others were paid tax credits even though the schools they attended weren’t acceptable institutions.
Still other students claimed the credit for more than four years.
The IRS cries poverty when confronted with the sheer scale of failure to manage this program.
“Funding limitations have severely hampered our efforts in this and other compliance areas. Since 2010, the IRS budget has been reduced by nearly $1.2 billion and we expect to have 16,000 fewer employees by the end of this fiscal year. We simply do not have enough resources to audit every questionable credit,” the agency said.
Remember, this is the same agency which found plenty of time to target conservative groups with extra scrutiny but can’t seem to find the time or the resources to fend off actual fraud. No doubt, the “students” getting the free money from the U.S. Treasury we’re overjoyed and showed that appreciation at the ballot box in 2012.