Congressman Walter Jones Takes Action | Eastern North Carolina Now

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Jones Calls On Irs To Act On Tax Fraud

    WASHINGTON, D.C.    Today, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) called for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to step up its efforts to prevent tax fraud. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has estimated that tax fraud will cost $21 billion in losses to the U.S. Treasury over the next five years. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), identity theft-related tax fraud cases more than doubled from 2011 to 2012. A 2012 TIGTA assessment provided additional evidence of widespread abuse, finding that thousands of separate refunds totaling millions of dollars were being mailed to single addresses across the country. Furthermore, TIGTA found that the IRS has not implemented effective identity verification for e-filing, and the agency is not in compliance with direct deposit regulations requiring tax refunds to be deposited in an account only in the name of the individual listed on the tax return.

    In response to these reports, Congressman Jones joined 36 of his House colleagues in writing a letter to Commissioner of Internal Revenue John Koskinen calling on the IRS to address the issues uncovered by the GAO and TIGTA.

    "Identity theft-related tax fraud is costly to the U.S. Treasury and harmful to the millions of Americans who are victimized," said Congressman Jones. "The IRS should be proactively working to put an end to this problem before it grows any further."

Jones Works To Stop Closure Of Military Fast Food Outlets

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) is calling for the Obama administration to exempt restaurants and other services provided to military personnel through exchanges and morale, welfare, and recreation (MWR) programs from recent changes to wage rates for federal contractors. In February, President Barack Obama bypassed Congress to sign an executive order that raised the minimum wage for federal contractors – including food service workers at military installations – causing many restaurants to determine that it is cost prohibitive to continue serving military personnel on base. This will result in fewer dining options for service members as well as a loss of jobs, many of which are filled by veterans and family members of military personnel.

    To combat these negative effects, Congressman Jones and 39 of his colleagues wrote a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez asking him to work with the Department of Defense to exempt MWR programs from the new wage changes.

    "The MWR programs and on-base restaurants are important resources for our service men and women and their families," said Congressman Jones. "They provide much-needed jobs during these difficult economic times and generate funding for military community programs, which is particularly crucial given reductions in defense spending. The administration needs to fix this problem."

    In Eastern North Carolina, on-base restaurants that would be affected by the wage change upon renewal of their contracts include Subway, Burger King, Domino's Pizza, and McDonald's, which has already closed locations on three Navy bases across the country. A full list is available here.


    Sarah Howard
      Communications Director

    Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3)

     2333 Rayburn House Office Building
     Washington, DC 20515

     sarah.howard@mail.house.gov  •  (202) 225-3415