AYOTTE TO HOLD FIELD HEARING WITH IRS COMMISSIONER TO EXAMINE TAX-RELATED IDENTITY THEFT

Invites Granite Staters to share experiences with tax identity theft in advance of hearing

WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, August 26, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) will hold a Budget Committee field hearing with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen on the IRS’ handling of fraudulent tax returns. Ayotte invited Commissioner Koskinen to participate in the hearing in order to hear directly from New Hampshire residents who have been victims of tax-related identity theft or have had other tax-related issues. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) have both examined how the IRS deals with fraudulent returns and found billions in revenue lost due to lack of detection.

“Victims of identity theft face significant emotional and financial hardships, and they shouldn't be left in the dark about the extent of the theft. I’m holding this hearing so that Commissioner Koskinen and other federal officials can hear directly from Granite Staters and gain a better understanding of problems faced by victims of tax-related identity theft and other tax-related issues, with the goal of finding solutions to these problems at the federal level.” said Ayotte. 

In advance of the hearing, Ayotte is also inviting Granite Staters who are willing to share their personal experiences with tax identity theft to do so through a special web form on her website, https://www.ayotte.senate.gov/irsstories/, or by calling her Manchester office at (603) 622-7979. This input will be helpful to Senator Ayotte’s efforts to work with the IRS to address this problem.

Ayotte has pushed the IRS to improve its policies and better help identity theft victims protect themselves and their personal information, and was instrumental in securing a commitment from Commissioner John Koskinen to provide identity theft victims with copies of fraudulent tax returns. Ayotte also helped introduce the Social Security Identity Defense Act of 2015, which would require the Internal Revenue Service to notify potential victims of identity theft, something the agency has failed to do in the past. It also requires that the IRS notify law enforcement and that the Social Security Administration notify employers who submit fraudulently used Social Security numbers. The bill adds civil penalties and extends jail time for those who fraudulently use an individual's Social Security number.

WHAT:          
Senate Budget Committee Field Hearing on Tax-Related Identity Theft

WHO:

Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Ms. Lori Weeks, Strafford, Tax-related identity theft victim

Mr. John C. Walker, Enrolled Agent, J. Walker & Company LLC

Mr. Christopher Lee, Senior Attorney Adviser, National Taxpayer Advocate Service

The Honorable J. Russell George, Inspector General for Tax Administration Department of the Treasury

The Honorable John A. Koskinen, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service

WHEN:          
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
2:00 PM

WHERE:        
UNH Manchester Campus
Room 201
88 Commercial St.
Manchester, NH

This hearing is open to the media and the public. 

Audio of the hearing can be accessed here:

Part I

Part II

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