Capitol Update

Department of Revenue Performance: Bad Refunds Stopped
There has been a lot of media attention lately in regards to fraudulent tax refunds. Recently, Turbo Tax and HR Block were the targets of identity fraud. It’s important to note that Wisconsin is not immune to these types of attacks, and hackers often come from all over the world targeting anyone. Thankfully, the Department of Revenue has implemented a new system to cut back on fraudulent returns.

With the 2013-2015 state budget, The Department of Revenue (DOR), was able to implement a program to help identify tax fraud. The Department of Revenue was able to stop $49.7 million in fraudulent/inappropriate refunds in 2014 thanks to their identity verification efforts and related fraud prevention activities.

"It's common to hear about cybercrimes in the news on a regular basis, and identity theft is becoming more common. We are taking proactive steps to help protect our citizens against someone filing a false tax return by trying to use their personal information," said Secretary Richard Chandler. "Wisconsin is using technology to protect our tax dollars and scare away people trying to steal your identity."

With ID Verification, tax returns are selected based on analytics where various factors indicate a possibility of identity fraud. When the tax returns are selected, the department will require the taxpayer to take a short identification quiz or provide documents that prove their identity before they process the refund.

Taxpayers who are selected to take an identity quiz will receive an identity verification letter asking them to complete the quiz within 20 days. The four-question quiz can be taken online or by telephone. Once the quiz is complete, taxpayers will know whether or not they passed or failed the quiz.

If they pass, the agency will continue to process the return. If a taxpayer failed the first quiz, they will have the opportunity to take a second quiz. If they fail twice, the taxpayer must mail documentation to the department proving their identity. The department will not issue a refund until a quiz is passed or the proper documentation is provided and all information is complete to process the return. You can learn more about the Department of Revenue's ID verification program or report suspected tax fraud on the Department of Revenue website.
 

Take a look at the table below to see the total number of bad refunds that were adjusted and or stopped.

Bad Refunds Adjusted/Stopped
(FY12-FY14)

*Source: Department of Revenue

Open Enrollment in the 17th Senate District

Open Enrollment in the 17th Senate District
-The inter-district public school open enrollment program allows parents to apply for their children to attend public school in a school district other than the one in which they reside.

What makes Open Enrollment different?
-Any Wisconsin resident in five-year-old kindergarten to grade 12 may apply to attend any school in Wisconsin during a specific time period.
-The 2015-16 school year open enrollment period begins on February 2, 2015, and ends at 4:00 pm on April 30, 2015.
-Both the home and potential school districts may deny the application for open enrollment based on criteria in state statute.
-Transportation to and from school is the responsibility of the parent.

Why does Open Enrollment exist?
-To give parents options for educating their children within the public school districts of our state.

How does funding work with Open Enrollment?
-The resident school district counts the pupil in membership for state aid and revenue limit purposes.
-For each regular education pupil, a uniform state-set amount is transferred from the resident school district to the nonresident school district in the final state aid payment each year.
-For 14-15 School Year total cost is: $6,635 per student.
-For children with disabilities, no aid transfer is made. Instead, the nonresident school district must bill the resident school district for the basic open enrollment amount plus any actual, additional costs to provide special education to the pupil.

2013-14 Open Enrollment Transfers In and Out of Selected School Districts

*Source: Department of Public Instruction

State Capitol - Room 8 South - Post Office Box 7882 - Madison, Wisconsin 53707 - Phone: (608) 266-0703

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