Posted on 12/02/2007 4:19:40 AM PST by Virginia Ridgerunner
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Silena Davis had counted on an early tax refund to pay for getting her teeth fixed. Now, because Congress has dawdled all year on a tax bill, she and millions of other early filers could have to wait extra weeks for refunds that last year averaged $2,291.
The Internal Revenue Service is looking hard at delaying the start of its filing season, set to kick off on Jan. 14, if Congress fails to pass legislation in the next two weeks. At issue is how to handle what could be a dramatic increase in the number of people facing a higher alternative minimum tax.
If there is a delay and it extends into mid-February, it would slow nearly 38 million refunds worth a total of about $87 billion, the IRS Oversight Board predicts.
(snip)
The board, an independent advisory group, said in a report to lawmakers last week that it is "gravely concerned about the serious risks" to the filing season if Congress does not make timely changes to the tax. They include more mistakes by both taxpayers and the IRS and more people failing to pay taxes because of uncertainty about what they owe.
(snip)
Richard Spires, the deputy IRS commissioner for operations support, said in an interview that the agency is considering not processing all early returns if the AMT issue is not resolved soon.
(snip)
People who file returns under the current AMT law would have to file an amended return if the law were changed. Spires also stressed that there would not be any advantage to filing by paper if the IRS is not accepting electronic returns. "We're not going to process paper returns any faster," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
That is Yahoo AP’
That is a scare tactic directed at the President for thretening a veto for over spending on a democratic budget.
You and I don’t get refunds anymore “were the evil rich”.
I don't think so...I've been watching this story develop over the past month or two, and because the 'Rats have wasted all of their time on trying to force through illegal alien amnesty and surrender legislation, they ignored the critical tax bills, and are now facing a massive meltdown in the nation's tax system because of their neglect. This is a very real story, I fear, and yeah, I usually get a nice refund every year.
Their mistake, not mine.
I agree, there is no blaming W for this, it is the refusal to act on the part of the Congress which is causing this mess, and the problem I see is that the Main-Liner Media will attempt to spin it into W’s direction, but will be unsuccessful. We have Rush, Sean, and the rest on OUR side, and the truth, despite all that can be omitted, is still stronger than the Socialist-Elite lies. When this directly hits voters, they will get to the bottom of this.
I just checked the link, and it looks like they have caught their mistake and fixed it, with the author’s correct name.
"And these are the people Democrats want to run our health care system!"
I tried to explain to someone the other day his taxes had been cut and he wouln't even attempt to listen.
You see his 'refund" check was smaller than the year before ....so instead of looking to see its smaller because they confiscated less money to begin with, he complains that HIS check isn't enough.
The fact that he had more money every day of every week is lost on him. He believes that refund is like a gift, a entitled gift .
You can bet your ass that if the Republicans still held the majority this would read,
Now, because the Republican-led Congress has dawdled all year...
[pay for getting her teeth fixed]
She should have thought of that when she opted to let the government keep HER MONEY all year.
What a bunch of ignorant people. Change your withholding and get a $44/week raise. Sock it away in a savings account. At least that way you'll make a little interest on it.
I'd rather pay a little than give the government an interest free loan for a year.
I've heard just about all the flimsy excuses for this. and it basically boils down to:
These economically challenged dolts couldn't save a dollar if their life depended on it.
They treat their "refund" from the IRS as an annual bonus or "unexpected" windfall that they plan all year how to superflorously waste it on a big purchase.
It's usually the same people that claim they can't afford to contribute to thier 401k.
Amen to that advice.
If you pay estimated taxes, don’t take the refund. Roll the overpayment on April 15 into the estimated taxes for the following year. Reduce your estimated tax payments.
Unless you really, really love your government, don’t give it an interest-free loan.
unfortunately it is not always that easy, my withholding is set so I break even, however because I take a sizeable bonus at the end of the year the IRS takes an additional $20,000 WHICH i GET BACK . there is no way for me to keep this money from being withheld. I am at their mercy for my refund.
If you’re self-employed, or the business owner, take it to your accountant, see if he understands what you want - sometimes they don’t, sometimes they are working under instructions you gave them years ago which no longer apply, but you haven’t informed them of that.
There are other ways - small bonuses quarterly with a larger bonus at year end, for instance. Depends on how certain the income figure the bonus is based on, and what periods it's earned in during the year.
And December is a good time to start planning for next year.
Yep...me too. I get a large bonus every December that constitutes a significant chunk of my overall gross salary. It changes from year to year, depending on how well my firm does, so there is no real way for me to calculate my break-even withholding point without screwing myself and family in April.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.