Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Prevention Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-676
Sponsor: Sen. Nelson, Bill [D-FL]
Introduced: 2013-04-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Appropriations
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Civil actions and liability
Computer security and identity theft
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Consumer credit
Crime prevention
Crime victims
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Department of Commerce
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of the Treasury
Employee hiring
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Reserve System
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Freedom of information
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Intergovernmental relations
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Law enforcement administration and funding
Medicare
Right of privacy
Social Security Administration
Social security and elderly assistance
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2013-04-09
text: 
Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Prevention Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) establish a plan to reduce the administrative time required to process and resolve cases of tax-related identity theft, (2) ensure that taxpayers who have been adversely affected by identity theft have a single point of contact at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), (3) issue a personal identification number to identity theft victims after their true identity has been established and verified, (4) implement a program to prevent the processing of a tax return by an identity thief, (5) issue regulations that restrict the delivery or deposit of multiple tax refunds to the same individual in the same tax year, and (6) submit a report on options for creating a tax system that reduces burdens on taxpayers and decreases tax fraud through information matching. Imposes restrictions on the use of prepaid debit cards for tax refunds.
 
Prohibits the Secretary of Commerce from disclosing information contained on the Death Master File relating to a deceased individual to persons who are not certified to access such information.
 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish and implement procedures to eliminate the unnecessary collection, use, and display of social security account numbers of Medicare beneficiaries; (2) ensure that newly-issued Medicare identification cards meet certain security standards; and (3) establish a pilot program to evaluate the applicability of smart card technology to Medicare beneficiaries or providers and whether such cards would be effective in preventing Medicare fraud. 
 
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the display, sale, or purchase of social security numbers without the consent of the account holder. Imposes criminal penalties for obtaining a social security number for purposes of locating or identifying an individual with the intent to physically injure, harm, or use the identity of an individual for any illegal purpose. Allows civil remedies to enjoin and recover losses from violations of this Act and sets forth civil penalties for such violations.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a criminal penalty for willful misappropriation of another person's taxpayer identity, and (2) increase the civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information by paid tax return preparers. 
 
Authorizes the IRS Commissioner to transfer appropriated funds to be used solely to prevent and resolve potential cases of tax fraud.
 
Directs the Commissioner to establish in the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS the position of Local Law Enforcement Liaison to coordinate the investigation of tax fraud with state and local law enforcement agencies.
 
Grants the Secretary of the Treasury access to information in the National Directory of New Hires for purposes of administering the tax code.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-04-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-04-09
text: Introduced in Senate