Tax Tip of the Week | No. 278 | Theft Prevention Measures Likely to Slow 2014 Refunds

Tax Tip of the Week | Nov 26, 2014 | No. 278 | Theft Prevention Measures Likely to Slow 2014 RefundsHere is a recent article from the Ohio Society of CPAs....

An ID theft problem ahead of the Oct. 15 filing deadline will likely lead to measures that will slow refunds in the spring, Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa told OSCPA this week.Testa said the Ohio Department of Taxation did not experience a data breach, and is working with law enforcement officials to get to the bottom of the problem.“We’ve been hit with an issue that has affected other states and the federal governments for some time,” he said. “People somehow acquired Social Security numbers – the identity of other people – and filed bogus tax returns claiming refunds.“The numbers have dramatically increased this year,” he said, as the state has stopped $230 million of attempted theft to date. The department granted a 30-day grace period for affected taxpayers and tax practitioners.Testa joined Income Tax Division Administrator Deborah Smith in discussing the issue on the latest episode of OSCPA Spotlight. Though they said they couldn’t get specific about the measures they’re taking to catch the thieves, they said one result is that taxpayers can expect to wait for refunds longer than the five to seven days the department advertised in the past. The tax department will add more steps in the refund request process, which Testa said will unfortunately cause delays.“We have to err on the side of protecting the state treasury and protecting legitimate taxpayers who are owed their refunds,” he said.

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