,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ecfh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #ba1 #bjah,mr4 ,bishop of ,michigan 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,walorski1 and ,mr4 ,renacci7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to require that certain tax refunds be made by electronic funds transfer1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,taxpayer ,,id ,protection and ,fraud ,prevention ,act4 #b4 ,income tax refunds with respect to electronically filed returns required to be made by electronic funds transfer 7a7 ,in general ,section #fdjb of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7n7 ,refunds ,to be made by electronic funds transfer 7#a7 ,in general ,except as otherwise provided in this subsection1 any refund or payment made by the ,secretary under this title with respect to an income tax return which is filed electronically shall be made by electronic funds transfer4 7#b7 ,exceptions ,the ,secretary may1 based on standards developed by the ,secretary1 waive the application of paragraph 7#a7 to refunds or payments-- 7,a7 to persons or classes of persons for whom compliance imposes a hardship1 including persons who do not have access to any of the methods by which the ,secretary makes payments by electronic funds transfer 7including bank accounts1 prepaid debit cards1 ,direct ,express ,cards1 digital wallets1 and any other secured electronic payment method as may identified by the ,secretary71 and 7,b7 in other circumstances as may be necessary4 7#c7 ,regulations ,the ,secretary shall issue such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary to increase the percentage of refunds and payments made by electronic funds transfer1 including regulations or other guidance which-- 7,a7 requires recipients of refunds or payments required to be made by electronic funds transfer to-- 7i7 designate one or more financial institutions or other authorized agents to which such payments shall be made1 and 7ii7 provide information necessary for such recipient to receive such refund or payment by electronic funds transfer1 and 7,b7 ensures that persons required to have an account at a financial institution under subparagraph 7,a7 because of the application of paragraph 7#a7-- 7i7 will have access to such an account at a reasonable cost1 and 7ii7 are given the same consumer protections with respect to such account as other account holders at the same financial institution4 4 7b7 ,no inference with respect to form of electronic funds transfer ,nothing in the amendment made by this section shall be interpreted to restrict the form of electronic funds transfer by which the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or his designee1 may make refunds or payments4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to refunds and payments made after ,december #ca1 #bjai4 #c4 ,refunds to prepaid debit cards1 ,direct ,express cards1 etc ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or his designee1 shall-- 7#a7 to the maximum extent practicable1 allow income tax refunds to be made by electronic funds transfer to prepaid debit cards1 ,direct ,express cards1 digital wallets1 and any other secure electronic payment method as may be determined by the ,secretary1 7#b7 ensure that taxpayers are aware of the various methods referred to in paragraph 7#a7 by which taxpayers may received income tax refunds by electronic funds transfer1 and 7#c7 revise references in materials provided to taxpayers 7including income tax returns and instructions7 to ensure that the various accounts to which refunds may be made are referenced1 not simply checking and savings accounts4 #d4 ,report on implementation of requirement that all income tax refunds be made by electronic funds transfer ,not later than the date which is #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or the ,secretary's delegate1 shall submit a written report to ,congress describing how the ,secretary would implement a requirement that all income tax refunds be made by electronic funds transfer4 ,such report shall include any legislative recommendations that the ,secretary may have with respect to the implementation of such a requirement4 #e4 ,decrease in return threshold for requiring electronic filing 7a7 ,in general ,section #fjaa7;e77#b77;,a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking #bej and inserting #be4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to returns the due date for which 7determined without regard to extensions7 is after ,december #ca1 #bjah4 #f4 ,modification of earliest date on which credits or refunds in connection with child tax credit and earned income tax credit are made 7a7 ,in general ,section #fdjb7m7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by striking the #aeth day of the second month and inserting the #ast day of the third month4 7b7 ,effective date ,the amendment made by this section shall apply to credits or refunds made after ,december #ca1 #bjah4 #g4 ,annual report on improper payments ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or the ,secretary's delegate1 shall annually submit a written report to ,congress which identifies the aggregate amounts of improper payments made by the ,internal ,revenue ,service4 ,such report shall separately state the aggregate amount of such payments by relevant subcategories4 ,such subcategories shall include underpayments1 overpayments1 payments attributable to identity theft1 payments attributable to misidentification other than identity theft1 payments attributable to other fraud1 and such other subcategories as the ,secretary determines would be useful4 #h4 ,public-private partnership to address identity theft ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall work collaboratively with the public and private sectors to protect taxpayers from identity theft refund fraud4 #i4 ,recommendations of ,electronic ,tax ,administration ,advisory ,committee regarding identity theft refund fraud ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury shall ensure that the advisory group convened by the ,secretary pursuant to section #bjja7;b77#b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,service ,restructuring and ,reform ,act of #aiih 7commonly known as the ,electronic ,tax ,administration ,advisory ,committee7 studies 7including by providing organized public forums7 and makes recommendations to the ,secretary regarding methods to prevent identity theft refund fraud4