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Saturday April 13, 2002; 2:24 p.m. EDT
IRS Pays Millions in Slavery Reparations
While the debate over slavery reparations rages in
legal and academic circles, it seems some folks at the Internal Revenue Service
have already resolved the question.
In fact, two years ago the tax collecting agency
began handing out reparations payments to the tune of millions, based on claims
filed by taxpayers who cited a nonexistent slavery tax credit.
The scam, touted by con-artists who tell
unsuspecting marks they can help collect the slavery money for a fee, has
resulted in $2.7 billion in claims, of which $30 million has been approved by
the IRS.
The racket is so widespread that a dozen current
and former IRS employees have even applied for the slavery cash.
An IRS computer program designed to catch the bogus
slavery claims misses a full four percent, said the Washington Post, which
revealed the scam's success on Saturday - just two days before the IRS's filing
deadline.
Most of the taxpayer funded slavery payments were
for $43,209, the figure cited by Essence Magazine in 1993 as the estimated
current value of "40 acres and a mule" - compensation promised to some freed
slaves after the Civil War.
But deputy IRS inspector general Pamela Gardiner
admitted that in some cases, where couples filing jointly both claimed
reparations refunds, checks for $80,000 were cut.
Gardiner told the Post that the mistaken payments
have encouraged others who might otherwise be skeptical of the slavery tax
credit to file their own claims.
"Schemes all tend to jump as word (of their
success) begins to get out," she said.
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