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September 19, 2012
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Dear Subscriber,
On Aug. 14, I wrote how almost 100,000 federal employees, including members of Congress, were trying to beat the IRS out of paying more than $1 billion in taxes ... while on the taxpayers' payroll.
Well, it seems there is another group of tax cheats out there who are getting away with the same thing ... only on a much grander scale.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report citing that about 7,000 Medicaid providers in three selected states (Florida, New York and Texas) owed approximately $791 million in federal taxes from 2009 or earlier.
That's a low number, however, because the IRS taxpayer data reflects only the amount of unpaid taxes either reported on a tax return or assessed by the IRS through enforcement. It doesn't include providers who underreported their income or didn't bother filing at all.
But the real kick in the pants here is that, in 2009 alone, Medicaid paid these same providers $6.6 billion in reimbursements!
The GAO found that the amount of unpaid federal taxes ranged from approximately $100,000 to over $6 million. In addition, IRS records indicate that two of the providers are currently, or have previously been, under criminal investigation. For example, in one case a provider was caught participating in a medical billing fraud.
If you owe back taxes, the IRS can seize your property to satisfy that debt. They can even garnish your wages. And the IRS has an automated process to continuously levy federal payments made to delinquent taxpayers.
But it seems Medicaid reimbursements don't warrant such scrutiny because the IRS has determined that reimbursements are not federal payments.
Why, is beyond me ...
Po-tay-toe or Po-tah-toe,
It's Still the Same Thing!
After all, the Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal government and States. The federal government pays States for a specified percentage of program expenditures, called the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP).
FMAP varies by state based on criteria such as per capita income. The regular average state FMAP is 57%, but ranges from 50% in wealthier states up to 75% in states with lower per-capita incomes.
So Washington sends your tax dollars to the States to pay Medicaid providers who give health care to the needy. Yet the IRS doesn't consider those as federal payments.
Something is definitely wrong with that picture. And the IRS needs to get on the ball and quit splitting hairs!
And Look How Many Hairs it's Split
... $13.2 BILLION of Them!
The GAO estimates the IRS could have collected between $22 million and $330 million in just the three selected states in 2009 alone. However, officials in these same states voiced problems with implementing continuous levies against Medicaid payments.
Two of those problems: Difficulty reaching IRS revenue officers and the IRS sending levies to the wrong address.
There is absolutely no excuse for any of this. If Medicaid providers in three states are sitting on $791 million of taxpayers' money, imagine how much is out there in the other 47 states. Using simple math — $791 million ÷ 3 = $264 million x 47 — you'll get $12.4 billion.
Add them all up, and there could easily be $13.2 BILLION waiting to collect.
This is clearly a no-brainer ...
It doesn't even need a new law to get it going. Just put Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's posse on the road and let them go door-to-door, picking up your money. Of course, make sure they have the right addresses.
And for those Medicaid providers who don't pay up: No federal payments for you!
Send a copy of this posting to whomever you're supporting this election. Obama, Romney, your Congressmen. If they show how they can pull in $13 billion-plus without cutting benefits or increasing taxes, they're bound to get a few more votes come Nov. 6.
Best wishes,
George |
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About the Sound Dollar Campaign:
The Campaign for a Sound Dollar is a grassroots, non-partisan movement calling for the restoration of financial sanity in Washington. Our demands are simple — we are calling for Congress to secure a balanced federal budget by 2020, and keep it balanced into the future, by reducing deficit spending 11.3% each fiscal year through 2020.
We believe a debt-averse Congress — held accountable by debt-averse Americans — will bring back a Sound Dollar ... and renewed prosperity for America. |
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