Federal government seizes $424 million in tax refunds from children to pay back old debts owed by their PARENTS

• U.S. Treasury has grabbed $75 million this year from Americans whose debts are more than 10 years old, thanks to a single line in the farm bill
• Many of the debts trace back to the deceased parents of the people who now see their IRS tax refund checks sent back to Washington, D.C.
• Only about 10 per cent of appeals are granted
• A Maryland woman said she lost nearly $3,000 because the Social Security Administration overpaid her mother in 1977 after her husband died, leaving her with five children to raise
• Before the farm bill language turned up, Uncle Sam couldn't recover money that was owed for more than a decade