Senate Republican: Block tax credit for shielded immigrants

A senior Senate Republican said Monday that he’s working on a bill to block immigrants helped by President Obama’s executive actions from getting refundable tax credits.

{mosads}Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (Iowa) said Monday that the millions of immigrants that Obama wants to shield from deportation could get thousands of dollars apiece from the government through the Earned Income Tax Credit.

The EITC is a tax break aimed at helping the working poor. Grassley, a former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has raised concerns for weeks that immigrants would be able to claim the EITC for up to three previous years once they receive a Social Security number.

John Koskinen, the IRS commissioner, said at a hearing last month that undocumented immigrants could amend previous returns to claim the EITC, and then confirmed that in a letter to Grassley last week.

“With the stroke of a pen, the president rewarded those working illegally in the United States with a tax benefit that is designed to encourage low-income individuals to enter the workforce,” Grassley said in a statement. 

“Given that the IRS is intent on standing by its present interpretation of the eligibility requirements, I’m working on legislation to uphold an important principle that many of us in Congress support. The tax code shouldn’t reward those who broke our immigration laws.”

According to the IRS, taxpayers can claim a maximum of $6,143 from the EITC for 2014. The average EITC claim, Grassley’s office says, was roughly $2,300 in 2012.