Quick News: Unauthorized workers in US claimed $4.2bn in tax credits

Tax filers who were not authorized to work in the U.S. collected $4.2 billion in tax credits in 2010, a Treasury Department watchdog reported.

Although federal law prohibits people residing illegally in the U.S. from receiving most public benefits, an increasing number filed tax returns claiming the additional child tax credit intended for working families, according to the report released Friday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, J. Russell George.

"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," the report said.

The recipients didn't qualify for Social Security numbers and filed tax returns using individual taxpayer identification numbers supplied by the Internal Revenue Service. Bloomberg