In September 2019,
the U.S. Treasury
inspector general for
tax administration
( TIGTA )
released a heavily
redacted report.
"The IRS
has taken steps
to address some of
TIGTA’s previous
recommendations
to improve the
identification and
prevention of
erroneous credit
claims, (but) many
of the deficiencies
previously identified
still exist."
More than
$70 million
worth of
potentially erroneous
electric vehicle (EV)
plug-in credits claimed
between 2014 and 2018 !
Back in 2011,
the same watchdog
found $33 million worth
of plug-in and alternative
vehicle credits were
claimed erroneously.
15 Republican Senators
are demanding answers.
They sent a letter to
IRS Commissioner
Charles Retting on
"what appear to be
systemic problems,"
according to The Hill.
The Senators included
Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Chuck Grassley
and Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
Committee Chairman
Ron Johnson.
The GOP Senators said:
"...it is troubling that these
improper payments continue
and have more than doubled
in size in the eight years
since they were first reported."
The program
"overwhelmingly benefits
wealthy electric vehicle
owners in one state"
and cited a
Wall Street
Journal article
that showed
about half
of all EV sales
are in California.
The Senators demanded
data about the amount
of credits erroneously claimed
and whether or not the IRS
has conducted an internal audit.