Sen. Johnson leads inquiry into IRS’ handling of fraudulent electric vehicle tax credit claims, problems that were first reported in 2011
January 31, 2020
[Washington, D.C. …] Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has issued a letter to the IRS Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) seeking answers on a 2019 audit that revealed “$72 million in tax credits for electric vehicles” were improperly claimed for the fiscal year. This abuse was first reported in a 2011 TIGTA audit that found that $33 million in tax credits, or “one in five of every claimed tax credit,” were improperly claimed under the same electric vehicle program. The IRS admitted in the 2019 audit that the agency “does not have effective processes to identify and prevent [these] erroneous claims.”Despite this reoccurring problem, Congress is now considering a “$16 billion expansion to the program.” The Senator’s full letter, requesting information on the improper claims and the IRS’ plan to address the problem, is available on his webpage.