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NEW POLL OVERVIEW:<br />
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Senator Kelly Ayotte, came up with a proposal to restore pensions and unemployment insurance by cracking down on a tax credit program in which illegal immigrants have fraudulently collected billions of dollars in improper payments. <br />
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Senator Ayotte the money saved in fraudulent payments to illegal immigrants could pay for pensions and unemployment insurance. <br />
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Democrats putting an end to the fraudulent collection of tax credits by illegal immigrants would hurt the most vulnerable. <br />
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Senator Ayotte's was in the form of an amendment to the Democratic bill to extend unemployment insurance. <br />
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Ayotte broke with most of her Republican colleagues by voting to go forward with the bill; she did so specifically for the purpose of proposing her amendment. But Majority Leader Harry Reid would not allow it to be considered.<br />
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The Ayotte amendment would have required anyone collecting benefits from a program known as the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) to supply a Social Security number in order to collect the money. <br />
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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 2011, the Treasury reported that individuals who were not authorized to work in the U.S. received $4.2 billion by claiming the ACTC. The ACTC is the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), which can reduce an individual's taxes owed by as much as $1,000 for each qualifying child. The audit found that </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>the payment of Federal funds through this tax benefit appears to provide an additional incentive for aliens to enter, reside, and work in the United States without authorization, which contradicts Federal law and policy to remove such incentives.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> The audit was based upon an analysis of tax returns filed by persons with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), which are issued to individuals who are required to have a taxpayer identification number for tax purposes but are not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number because they are not authorized to work in the United States&hellip;<br />
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&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In a 2012 report from WTHR Indianapolis, one whistleblower characterized the issue as a </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>huge fraud</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> that allows undocumented workers to claim the tax credit for children who do not even live in the country. The whistleblower &mdash; a tax consultant &mdash; stated </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>we</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>ve seen sometimes 10 or 12 dependents, most times nieces and nephews, on these tax forms&hellip;the more you put on there, the more you get back.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> In fact, one of the workers interviewed in the investigation admitted that his address was used to file tax returns by four other undocumented workers who in total claimed 20 children, resulting in tax refunds totaling nearly $30,000.<br />
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Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation, Ayotte said, </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>estimates that this change will save approximately $20 billion over ten years.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> Ayotte</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span>s amendment would not have ended the tax credit program; it simply would have required those receiving the refundable credit to have a Social Security number. It seemed a modest and reasonable measure, especially since it would help solve the difficult problems of veterans' pensions and unemployment insurance. <br />
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NEW POLL QUESTION:<br />
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Should Congress pass a law to show a social security card to get an </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>Additional Child Tax Credit</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>?<br />
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Yes<br />
No<br />
Undecided<br />
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TO VOTE IN THIS POLL CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK<br />
<a href="http:// http://www.clinton-countygop.org/content/should-congress-pass-law-show-social-security-card-get-%E2%80%9Cadditional-child-tax-credit%E2%80%9D"><br />
http://www.clinton-countygop.org/content/should-congress-pass-law-show-social-security-card-get-%E2%80%9Cadditional-child-tax-credit%E2%80%9D</a><br />
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(To enter your comments click on </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span>Add new comment</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">'</span></span> after you vote.)<br />
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PREVIOUS POLL QUESTION:<br />
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What should the projected Michigan 1-billion dollar plus budget surplus be used for?<br />
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41% - Road repairs that the Governor says we need $1.3 billion<br />
27% - Roll back the state income tax to 1/10 of a point per year until 3.9%<br />
17% - OTHER<br />
7% - Additional school aid funding.<br />
2% - Restore the Earned Income Tax Credit.<br />
2% - Adding to the State rainy day fund.<br />
2% - $130 million to get matching funds for Medicaid.<br />
0% - Terminal repair at West Michigan Regional Airport in Holland.<br />
0% - $100,000 to the state beach grooming fund.<br />
0% - $300,000 for pre-college engineering program in Detroit<br />
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THERE WERE 4 COMMENTS MADE ON THIS POLL:<br />
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------------------------------------------------- COMMENT #1 <br />
Possible Surplus<br />
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IF the surplus materializes, we need to put it in several spots. Of course, put some in the rainy-day fund. But also, fund those areas that we have cut and are in need. We cut on the basis of not having it to spend with a promise that once things turn around, we can adequately fund emergency services, etc. So, let's keep our word and do it. There must be some benefit felt or people will begrudge it and we will lose credibility and elections. Use some common sense!<br />
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------------------------------------------------- COMMENT #2 <br />
surplus<br />
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I am in complete agreement with the previous posting: the money should be refunded to the hard working citzens of Michigan who basically paid more than the government needed. Liken the governmental budget to a personal budget: when the times are tough, the people who pay the bills have to cut back; when the times are good, the people who pay the bills have a splurge, or a windfall. The people who pay the bills, let's be clear, are not the legislators who allocate money: it is the citizens of Michigan who earned this money. They suffer from cutbacks; they ough to be the direct people who profit from this &quot;windfall.&quot;<br />
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------------------------------------------------- COMMENT #3 <br />
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What to do with a $Billion Tax Surplus: REFUND IT.<br />
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What do you do when you pay someone too much? You get a refund and you shouldn't have to ask for it. You don't suggest other ways for them to spend what they weren't entitled to receive/keep. Billion Dollar excess and the possible answers only include various spending schemes and other? Where was the option of : &quot; Refund the excess taxes to the people who paid more in taxes than was need.&quot;<br />
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My vote for &quot;other&quot; is intended to mean &quot;refund it&quot;. Republicans refund excess taxes. Democrats just keep it and spend it on something not budgeted. Well, actually Democrats don't have excess taxes.<br />
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------------------------------------------------- COMMENT #4 <br />
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Budget Surplus<br />
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This poll/survey does not provide sufficient information nor would an average voter be in position to gather enough data in order to make a well-informed decision. The best that it does is reflect how extensive and complex State government has become. A responder would at least need criteria for prioritizing the possibilities herein listed. And, we do not know what the most pressing needs are in order to prioritize those needs. I would expect the appropriate House and Senate committees and their staffs along with the relevant department heads to spend a whole lot of time researching and reviewing all of the data necessary to draw the necessary conclusions to form such a spending plan. Fred Nose<br />
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