Coats Highlights Waste of the Week: Fraud with Earned Income Tax Credits

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.), the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, today delivered his weekly “Waste of the Week” speech and highlighted errors with payments of the earned income tax credit.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported that $14.5 billion of this tax credit was paid out in error in 2013. Total earned income tax credit claims in 2013 amounted to $60 billion.

“This means that nearly a quarter of all earned income tax credit payments made in 2013 were wrong,” said Coats. “By bringing more accountability and verification to this program, the federal government could save up to $14.5 billion a year.”

In his remarks, Coats also pointed out that in 2011 the IRS identified more than 6.6 million potentially erroneous earned income tax credit claims that went to households that didn’t qualify.

Today’s speech marked Coats’ 19^th “Waste of the Week” presentation, and the senator has now identified more than $100 billion in total waste.

“My goal was to highlight $100 billion in taxpayer savings by the end of 2015,” said Coats. “I am not finished. I will continue to come here to the Senate floor to identify ways to fight waste, fraud and abuse.”

Click here to watch Coats speak on the Senate floor about this issue.