By Rebecca Feldhaus/KPR
Frankfort, KY – It's called the Division of Special Investigations, and its charge is to root out tax cheats and present cases for criminal prosecution. Director Jason Snyder says, in its first year, the division identified and stopped payment on more than 300-thousand dollars in fraudulent tax refunds and collected over 325-thousand dollars in restitution.
"We all know the state's in a bad budget situation right now. We've actually brought in, in the past year, more money on these investigative cases than we've paid out in salaries to the people who have looked into them. So, it's kind of a win/win for everybody."
Division investigations have also led to 50 felony indictments for tax crimes. The division, which Snyder says has become a national model, also tracks down Kentucky residents who are trying to avoid state and local taxes by failing to properly register their motor vehicles.