THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

We all think it is because they want to eliminate audits of their big money owners so they can run their big scams and tax cheats. But the sad truth is that most Congresscritters are small minded men and women who, individually, can be bought quite cheaply. This kind of tax fraud is more on their scale.

Identity theft is America’s fastest-growing crime, and tax-return fraud has become one of its most dynamic subsets. Criminals are leaving street corners for living rooms, and trading drugs for laptops, lured by the promise of more money for less hustle. According to the IRS, indictments and sentencing for tax-return fraud doubled last year, and the agency has described identity theft as the number one tax scam of 2014.

Prospective tax thieves need just three things: your name, Social Security number and birth date. (Those personal records are cheaply available on the black market.) They can then electronically file thousands of false tax returns with made-up numbers for your income and deductions. Within a couple of weeks, your refund is in the swindler’s pocket -- possibly spent on cars and other luxury items, before you even file your taxes.

The IRS does not have third-party information to effectively verify your income when tax returns are processed. So when a thief gets a fraudulent refund, the burden is on the victims to prove to the IRS that they are the legitimate taxpayers.

To collect the stolen tax returns, thieves often use prepaid debit cards, which can be bought in regular corner stores, require no bank account and allow money to be laundered quickly and easily. That way, they don’t have to bother with banks or check-cashing stores that may become suspicious when one person brings in several tax-refund checks. Several detectives have reported pulling over drivers and finding stacks of prepaid cards, along with stolen identity data...

Identity theft is America’s fastest-growing crime, and tax-return fraud has become one of its most dynamic subsets. Criminals are leaving street corners for living rooms, and trading drugs for laptops, lured by the promise of more money for less hustle. According to the IRS, indictments and sentencing for tax-return fraud doubled last year, and the agency has described identity theft as the number one tax scam of 2014.

Prospective tax thieves need just three things: your name, Social Security number and birth date. (Those personal records are cheaply available on the black market.) They can then electronically file thousands of false tax returns with made-up numbers for your income and deductions. Within a couple of weeks, your refund is in the swindler’s pocket -- possibly spent on cars and other luxury items, before you even file your taxes.

The IRS does not have third-party information to effectively verify your income when tax returns are processed. So when a thief gets a fraudulent refund, the burden is on the victims to prove to the IRS that they are the legitimate taxpayers.

To collect the stolen tax returns, thieves often use prepaid debit cards, which can be bought in regular corner stores, require no bank account and allow money to be laundered quickly and easily. That way, they don’t have to bother with banks or check-cashing stores that may become suspicious when one person brings in several tax-refund checks. Several detectives have reported pulling over drivers and finding stacks of prepaid cards, along with stolen identity data.

All done by fairly small fish. Why help a Big Swinging Dick who will just push you around when you can help people like yourself. And the more money the Republicans can cut from the IRS, the easier it will be for their supporters to prosper.