What if you received a notice from the IRS stating that your tax refund had been revoked because your parents owed the government money decades ago? That's exactly what's happening to some Americans thanks to a provision included in the 2008 Farm Bill. NTUF's Research and Outreach Manager Dan Barrett wrote about this troubling trend on the Government Bytes blog last week, and outlined an alternative the IRS should consider if it needs to collect more revenue: pursue the $3.3 billion in back taxes owed by government employees themselves.
NTUF also featured 3 recently-scored bills in this week's edition of The Taxpayer's Tab:
- Most Expensive: Congressman Steve Daines (R-MT) introduced the Authorized Rural Water Projects Completion Act, which would create a dedicated fund to finance water infrastructure projects in rural areas that have been authorized by Congress for years, but remain unfinished. It would result in $73 million per year in new spending towards those projects.
- Most Friended: Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) has proposed the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act of 2014. It extends various autism research programs through 2019 at current funding levels, but also provides an additional $29 million per year for oversight and strategic management.
- Wildcard: The Healthy Kids Outdoors Act of 2014, introduced by Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) and Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI), authorizes $5 million over the next three years to help state and local governemnts promote outdoor activity among youth.
For more on these bill's and Dan's blog post, check out the latest edition of The Taxpayer's Tab online.