Everyone Looks for a Loophole
The first-time homebuyer tax credit has literally opened many doors for people across America during this tough economic time. It is clearly a great opportunity that not everyone can take advantage of, but there are some people who are not first-time homebuyers that are trying anyway. The applications for the credit are a little too trustworthy for this day and time. For example, there is no minimum age requirement for the applicants. This has resulted in “applicants” as young as 4 years old. In fact, there have been over 500 applicants under the age of 18. And that’s just the beginning! Treasury oversight officials say they have found 74,000 claims where they now have evidence of previous ownership, these credits were valued at $500 million. They even reported at least 19,000 filers, which clocks in at $139 million, that hadn’t even bought a home! Something is seriously wrong here. As sad as it might be, the reality is, we need stricter rules when dealing with our government’s money. Hundreds of thousands of citizens should not be able to even find a way to fraudulently take advantage the stimulus plan. It is really too bad that it has come to this because the tax credit is not a bad idea. You have to wonder if this new information will hurt the chances of the tax credit being extended. As of right now, it ends on November 30, but there has been heavy talk about an extension. I expect there will be a complete overhaul of the application process, if there is an extension.