Another update
Back when the Washington folks were trying to cure Covid by throwing slush funds at it, one of the tactics was the employee retention tax credit. There was comment at the time that many of these programs amounted to unending slush funds. This one certainly has been – what was supposed to cost $ billion has cost five times that much.
Demand for the credit soared as Congress extended the tax break and made it available to more companies. Aggressive marketers dangled the prospect of enormous refunds to business owners if they would just apply. As a result, what was expected to cost the federal government $55 billion has instead ballooned to nearly five times that amount as of July. Meanwhile, new claims are still pouring into the IRS each week, ensuring a growing price tag that lawmakers are anxious to cap.
When Congress created the tax break for employers at the pandemic’s onset, it proved so popular that lawmakers extended and amended the program three times. The credit, worth up to $26,000 per employee, can be claimed on wages paid through 2021.
To qualify, generally businesses must show that a local or state government order related to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in their business having to close or partially suspend operations. Or the businesses must show they experienced a significant decline in revenues.
For instance, a New Jersey tax preparer was arrested in July on charges related to fraudulently seeking over $124 million from the IRS when he filed more than 1,000 tax returns claiming the employment tax credits.
With what is essentially no oversight, no verification, and no incentive to check anyone out, the Feds are estimating the 95% of the claims are fraudulent.
Want to get some attention, Joe” Dedicate a goodly fraction of those 80,000+ new IRS agents to checking the recipients of this program. And quit thinking of them as campaign donors and call them what they are – crooks.
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", COVID-19, Crime
This tax credit program isn’t the only source of government cash. There is the PPP loans to employers to keep paying their employees. Those “loans” are being forgiven. One applicant is that impoverished employer of some gardeners, to wit, Barbara Streisand. The fraudulent and questionable claims on both the loan programs and tax credits will likely cost taxpayers close to trillion dollars. Both are rife with fraudulent claims that were paid.
I know several small business owners that would never have come back if the loans from the mandatory shut downs had not been forgiven. It isn’t like they wanted to shut their business down for 9 months for no reason.
BUT, last month showed a HUGE jobs increase for Lord Biden!!
That guy who does the videos while standing in front of the Star Wars Imperial Troopers said that the American taxpayers are paying to trim Barbara Streisand’s bush. Shut down the internet, that guy one.
That guy won.
Hack blames his crappy company issued eFone 2.
Spit my coffee out AND vomited on that one.
I cofomited.
Nope: gotta go after the REAL criminals. You know, the guys/gals that had home school materials they purchased and paid taxes on already from the last school year they turned around and sold on e-bay to try and offset the cost of eggs, milk, bread, and meat. How dare someone only pay taxes on something ONCE!
Another trillion reasons why we can’t have nice things. Andy Jackson…weeps.
This is so easy. Simply direct that all claims have to be processed by the VA. It will be decades before they see a dime and then never the correct amount.
You just know that Al Sharpton’s National Action Network got in on this scam.
I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials by local law and accounting firms offering to help employers obtain these “government owed” benefits lately. Mostly on late night programming.
“And quit thinking of them as campaign donors and call them what they are – crooks.”
In the demonrat world, they’re one in the same
So glad many own my labor before I do. There’s a word, Amendment, and Article 1, Section 10, Clause 1.2 for that.
The ‘measuring stick’ that is used to determine price, value, and cost isn’t just broken, It is a weapon, always has been.
I didn’t break the contract and will be damned if mines will suffer from it.
“Bill of Attainder” these nuts, fuckohs!
I did some of this work for a couple of clients. Ended up recovering just short of $180,000 for one company. I think I charged them about $900 for my work.