Thousands of American taxpayers erroneously claimed lucrative electric car tax credits valued at up to $7,500 last year, undermining the United States government’s green car initiatives.
Overall, the government offered up $163.9 million worth of tax credits, $33 million of which appeared to have been incorrectly claimed.
The government’s generous tax credits worth up to $7,500 were a well-intentioned effort to put more green cars on the road, but a new report indicates that about 20 percent of the 13,000 credits doled out by the IRS were fraudulent.
The Treasury Department discovered that buyers claimed credits for cars that failed to qualify, including Hummer H3s, Dodge Durangos and CadillacEscalades. One applicant even claimed the credit for a golf cart. What’s more, the study indicated that some IRS employees and even some prisoners incorrectly claimed the tax credits.
The IRS employees who fraudulently claimed the credits have been referred to the department’s Office of Investigations.
A total of 29 prisoners claimed credits amounting to $49,926, even though they were incarcerated during 2009.
The credits applied to everything from hybrid vehicles to EVs to a provision that provided cash back for drivers who converted their own cars to plug-in EVs.
References
1.’Thousands wrongly claimed …’ view
1.’Thousands wrongly claimed …’ view
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