WASHINGTON – Imagine going to file your tax return, only to discover someone else has already filed it and received your tax refund check.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, last year alone more than 850,000 tax returns and $5.8 billion were associated with fraudulent tax refunds involving identity theft. Most tax identity theft victims don’t even realize what has happened until they file their taxes, only to learn from the IRS that someone else has already filed and claimed their hard earned tax return. This is of particular concern for Floridians because the state has the most identity theft complaints in the country.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) today introduced legislation to help stop the growing problem of tax return identity theft. The Stopping Tax Offenders and Prosecuting Identity Theft Act (H.R. 4362) increases penalties for tax return identity thieves to help deter this type of crime and protect victims.

“We have seen countless news stories about how tax refund identity theft is on the rise across the country, particularly in my district in South Florida.” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “When I met with Joan Rubinstein in my district, she told me about how she became the victim of tax refund identity theft in 2010 when thieves filed a false tax return using her social security number. Even though my office was able to help Joan eventually get her tax refund, she became a victim yet again in 2011. We must do something to protect Americans like Joan from ever having to go through this headache. To mark tax day today, Chairman Smith and I have introduced legislation that protects Americans and their tax dollars, while discouraging would-be thieves from perpetuating this crime.”

“Millions of Americans who file their taxes expect that they will receive a federal refund,” said Chairman Smith. “Unfortunately, rather than collecting their hard-earned cash, many will discover that they have become victims of tax refund identity theft. Texans are especially vulnerable to these ID theft schemes. Texas ranks fifth in the nation for identity theft complaints. This bill increases penalties for tax return ID theft to help deter these crimes and better protect law-abiding, taxpaying Americans.”

The bill also expands the definition of a victim of identity theft to include businesses and charitable organizations, as a growing concern among these groups is having their identities stolen and used in phishing schemes to extract the sensitive information from unsuspecting taxpayers used in tax return thefts.