The head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told lawmakers on Friday that the IRS knew he was sending stimulus payments to the deceased, and even said that his own mother, who died in 2018, received one.
“What happened was: The IRS initially determined that the deceased, or anyone who filed a return in 2018 or 2019, should receive a payment, so they knew they were paying the deceased,” Comptroller Gene said. Dodaro to the House selection committee on the coronavirus crisis. . “Then it was publicly disclosed, the Treasury reassessed that position and stopped it.”
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Dodaro testified a day after a GAO report was released that found that more than a million economic stimulus payments, totaling nearly $ 1.4 billion, were sent to deceased people.
Gene L. Dodaro, United States Comptroller General, wears a face mask while greeting members of a House Select Subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Friday, June 26, 2020, before the start of a hearing on a new report from the United States Government Office of Accountability (GAO) with recommendations for improving the federal response to coronavirus. (AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster)
The report, which looked at how the nearly $ 3 trillion CARES Act stimulus package was administered, said the IRS generally uses third-party data, such as death records kept by the Social Security Administration to avoid erroneous claims for reimbursement. of taxes.
But with economic stimulus checks sent in April and May in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Treasury Department and the IRS “did not use death records to stop payments to people who died for the first three batches of payments due to the legal interpretation under which the IRS operated. “
The IRS attorney reportedly “determined that the IRS did not have the legal authority to deny payments to those who filed a statement for 2019, even if they had died at the time of payment.” He also advised the “discretion” provided in the CARES Act (which authorized payments) to apply the same set of rules to those who filed a 2018 statement but not one in 2019.
Treasury officials also cited language in the CARES Act that required payments to be made “as quickly as possible” as to why the Treasury and the IRS used policies and procedures developed in 2008 for stimulus payments, and consequently “They did not use death records as a filter to stop payments to the deceased in the first three batches of payments” in an effort to fulfill that mandate from Congress.
Dodaro said that to stop the payments, the Treasury had to give the Treasury Fiscal Service Office, which makes the payments, temporary access to a death master file. He said he urged Congress to pass legislation that gives him permanent access to the archive.
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He went on to say that even his own mother, who died more than two years ago, received a payment.
“My own mother received a payment, sadly she passed away in February 2018, and my sister received it on my mother’s behalf and right on the check it said deceased,” he said, adding that the payment was returned.
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Dodaro said that since the report came out, several citizens have sent an email saying they have checks that were sent in error and are looking to return them. He renewed his calls for Congress to pass a legislative solution to the problem.
“Congress needs to pass this legislation. … I think it’s very important, “he said, arguing that it could also affect other government payments.” It could be a payment for agriculture, education or whatever, so I encourage you to do so. “
