Posted on 04/18/2008 8:24:21 AM PDT by Son House
Merchants struggling with the slowdown in spending are stepping up promotions to court consumers who are expecting a cash infusion from federal rebate checks. Retailers are already planning major sales and big advertising campaigns in the fierce fight for dollars - even though the government won't start mailing out the checks until May. For merchants worried about a bleak year, this is like Christmas in spring.
Store owners have good reason to expect a shopping spree. People plan to spend 40.6 percent, or about $42.9 billion, of the $105.7 billion the government is distributing in tax rebates, according to a survey conducted in February by the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C., trade group. Consumers, besieged by soaring cost of gas and groceries and declining home values, plan to use about $30 billion to pay down debt and about $20 billion to put in savings, the survey found.
The tax rebate, part of a federal effort to boost the economy, will put $600 in the pocket of most individual filers, $1,200 for couples who file jointly, and an extra $300 per child for families. Only the wealthiest taxpayers will be excluded.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Like h@ll. I'm nowhere near "wealthy", but I don't get the rebate. The govt prefers to give my money to some loser who doesn't even work for a living.
And shop owners are increasing prices in ...three ...two ... one .....
My $600.00 will be going towards one month of my health insurance premium.
I’m not sure what the top income tax rates are, but just like capitol gains tax rates they should be lowered to 15% pronto, good enough for Warren Buffet, good enough for his secretary.
This is ridicules, we should have had lower rates years ago, and here we have to figure out what to do with $600, when keeping more of our earnings would have given more capitol to those who are faced with home foreclosure so tax payers wouldn’t have to make house payments for somebody else’s house too.
Agreed. You cannot tax your way to prosperity.
Where is Obama today? Is he studying the issue so he understands that lowering tax rates will improve opportunities for the poor, along with improving the quality of life for Americans and the rest of the world? Or we will hear more agreeing with Clinton, which we all knows leads to more spending and higher tax rates for all Americans.
These rebates are a one shot deal, then they are over. Businesses won’t expand and they won’t hire new people. It’s just a scam from incumbents of both parties to get your vote.
I’m using my tax rebate to buy Euros.
rebates are a one shot deal
and low tax rates can last a lifetime, just ask Warren Buffett.
At least fix the AMT. My wife and I got caught again this year. It is getting so it doesn’t pay to have many deductions.
LOL
If Charlie Gibson knows lower tax rates are bringing in more revenue, I can’t see how all the brains in Congress let that get past them. We’ve got to hit this terrible rebate idea hard while it is fresh in peoples minds. Low tax rates that should have been implemented for income taxes too, and that does include illuminating getting rid of AMT. 15% should be max.
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