Tax Refunds & Advice

Most Americans who qualify for an economic stimulus rebate will not have to do anything other than file their 2007 individual income tax return to receive their payment this year.

Most people are well aware that the Treasury is planning to send economic stimulus tax rebates to more than 130 million Americans. Although there is no way of knowing when your rebate will arrive in the mail, plans are for the checks to be sent throughout the late spring and summer months.

Generally speaking, you do not need to do anything in order to receive your payment. As long as you file your 2007 tax return as usual, you will be in line to receive your check when the time comes. In other words, the entire process is automated, which saves individuals from completing lengthy applications or directly contacting the Internal Revenue Service. As with similar rebates in the past, not everybody will receive the same amount. There is a maximum payment of $600 for individuals or $1,200 for those who file a joint return; the minimum is $300 or $600 for joint returns. Even if you do not think that you earn enough money, you will still want to keep an eye out for a rebate. If your tax return shows income in excess of $3,000, it is safe to say that you will be receiving $300 at the very least.

Parents who are eligible for this payment will receive an additional $300 for each child, with no cap.

Of course, there are income limits that can change the amount you receive. For individuals earning more than $75,000, five percent of the amount exceeding this threshold will be deducted from the payment. For joint filing, the maximum income is $150,000. 

As you can see, there are a few stipulations that will determine how much of a payment you receive. With that being said, more than 130 million Americans will receive an additional rebate by the end of summer. 

For further information on the economic stimulus plan, visit: http://www.irs.com/news/stimulus-rebate-2008.htm

As you may know, not everybody feels that it is their obligation to pay taxes. While tax evasion is against the law, hundreds of thousands of people still try to get away with this every year. One state where this has become a huge problem is California. In fact, this situation has gotten so bad that lawmakers and government officials are putting special measures in place to collect these unpaid dollars.

State tax agents have decided to take their fight to the internet. They are posting the names of delinquent taxpayers online for the world to see. They are hoping that this will either scare or embarrass these people into paying back taxes. Will this work? Only time will tell, but at the very least it is a start.

In addition to posting names online, Governor Schwarzenegger has also proposed that approximately 500 investigators and collectors be hired to track down those who are avoiding payment. Although this would cost the state quite a bit of money, the funds that they would collect from delinquents would more than make up for it.

At this point, it is estimated that the state of California is owed more than six billion dollars in unpaid taxes. It is the state’s hope that posting names online and hiring collectors will help to bring in some of this uncollected money. 

Just because you are a movie star who makes a lot of money, it does not mean that you can get away with not paying taxes. Apparently, this is something that Wesley Snipes forgot between the years of 1999 and 2004. Snipes has been accused of failing to pay taxes on $58 million of income that he earned during this time period. If convicted, he faces a prison term of up to 16 years.

Believe it or not, the Snipes case is one of the biggest in the history of the US tax service. Snipes, as well as two co-defendants, deny the eight charges that have been brought against them.

The one twist in this case is that Snipes’ lawyers have admitted that he was wrong. But with that being said, the lawyers have also stated that Snipes should only have to pay the money back. In other words, there is no need for a trial as attempted fraud was never his intention.

The prosecutor in the case, M. Scotland Morris said, “”Nobody likes paying taxes, but paying taxes is the price we pay to live in a civilized society.”

The jury in this case consists of five men and seven women. They have heard both sides of the case, and must now decide whether or not Snipes is guilty.

Within the next few days, Snipes will find out what his future holds. It will be interesting to see how the jury deciphers all of the information that has been presented. Stay tuned for the verdict!