Sen. Sherrod Brown looks to boost penalties for tax identify theft

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Wednesday said he supports a Senate bill that increases penalties for people convicted of identify theft by filing false tax returns with the IRS.

Brown spoke in Ohio with Michael Bucalo, one of his constituents whose identity was stolen by a criminal who got his tax return, and said these sorts of crimes are slowing down tax refunds.

"The deadline to file taxes is right around the corner — and so, too, are criminals waiting to defraud honest taxpayers, like Michael," Brown said. "Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in our country, where increased access to information for consumers also means increased opportunities for criminals — so it's no wonder that stealing identities to fraudulently obtain tax returns and refunds is turning into an epidemic."

The Identify Theft and Tax Fraud Prevention Act, S. 1534, was introduced last year by Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The bill would increase penalties for tax fraud, give victims of identify theft unique PIN numbers to use on their tax returns, and let people opt out of having to file their returns electronically. The bill also increases IRS resources for tax fraud prevention.

Brown said tax fraud is on the rise in northeast Ohio, and said prisoners are filing fraudulent returns that cost taxpayers millions in unjustified refunds.

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