The Badly Misnamed Earned Income Tax Credit

Yes the Earned Income Tax Credit is the name of it, but not one penny of it has ever been earned by recipients.

Although it puts lot of bucks in the pockets of recipients, it is an abomination to millions of struggling taxpayers who must pay for it.

To qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, one must have a job like most Americans.

If a worker's Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is less than $36,348, and he/she meets citizenship and other qualifications, a small credit applies.

For those who receive the maximum credit, a most generous gift kicks in, compliments of fellow taxpayers. The amount of the credit is determined by income, deductions and dependents.

The maximum benefit for the tax year 2006 is $4576.

Recipients also can get an exemption from much withholding during the year in anticipation of the huge refund he/she will likely receive, by taking advantage of the Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit.

On the downside, millions of hard working taxpayers of modest means, who are not receiving the Earned Income Tax Credit get hit with a stiff tax bill.

Possible Ten Billion Paid Out Due To Fraud and Mistakes

A 2004 report from the Treasury reveals that billions should not have been paid, in the year of the study, 1999. The report reveals that possibly 32 percent of the amount "claimed" should not have been claimed stating:

An IRS compliance study of Tax Year (TY) 1999 returns estimated that between $8.5 and $9.9 billion (27 to 32 percent) of the $31 billion in EITC claimed for TY 1999 should not have been paid.

Also, certain types of income do not have to be counted as income and the EITC has no effect on welfare benefits.

IRS publication 17 says the following:

"The EITC has no effect on certain welfare benefits. In most cases, EITC payments will not be used to determine eligibility for Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, low-income housing or most Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) payments."

For recipients of this bonanza it's great, but it is a typical government program that started out small, now has a huge cost and a huge percentage of the cost is due to waste and fraud.

The fraud is mostly in the form of claiming phony dependents. Those victimology politicians who have large constituencies of EITC recipients will wage a ferocious fight to protect this program no matter how much of taxpayers' hard earned money goes to waste and fraud.

Will we continue to allow this?