The United States Internal Revenue Service now acknowledges that its own mistakes caused some foreign citizens to receive $1,200 coronavirus relief payments they weren't entitled to (the aid was for US citizens only) — and the IRS says the error will probably happen again if the federal government sends out more stimulus money.
From NPR:
When reports of the mistake first surfaced, the U.S government placed the blame on those non-Americans, saying that many noncitizens erroneously received stimulus checks because they had filed incorrect tax returns that made them appear to be American.
But many non-Americans who received stimulus money do not file U.S. tax returns. One of them is Susanne Wigforss, a 78-year-old Swedish citizen who lives in Stockholm.
Wigforss was surprised in July to get a $1,200 check in the mail from the U.S. Treasury. It was followed by a letter from the White House signed by President Trump, addressed to "My Fellow American" and informing her that "your economic impact payment has arrived."
Only U.S. citizens and U.S. "resident aliens" are eligible for stimulus money — "resident alien" is a federal tax classification, and to qualify an individual needs a green card or must have been in the U.S. for a certain amount of time — and Wigforss is neither.
More at NPR News.
