Sorenson v. Secretary of the Treasury

The Internal Revenue Code and the Social Security Act direct the Secretary of the Treasury to “intercept” certain *853tax refunds payable to persons who have failed to meet child-support obligations. In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that payments involving eamed-income credits could be intercepted. 752 F. 2d 1433 (1985). We granted certiorari, 472 U. S. 1016 (1985), because this ruling was in conflict with decisions of the Courts of Appeals for the Second and Tenth Circuits. See Rucker v. Secretary of Treasury, 751 F. 2d 351 (CA10 1984); Nelson v.…