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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMillions of Americans Might Not Get Stimulus Checks. Some Might Be Tricked Into
Paying TurboTax to Get Theirs.
Congress gave the IRS the job of sending out coronavirus rescue checks. But the underfunded agency is struggling, while for-profit companies like Intuit have started circling, hoping to convert Americans in need into paying customers.
by Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel April 15, 5 a.m. EDT
Congress has approved billions of dollars of checks for Americans hard hit by the biggest round of layoffs in U.S. history. But millions of Americans will have to wait months for that money and millions more may never get the money at all.
Thats because the rescue legislation left it to the IRS, an agency gutted by Congress, to organize the complex logistics of delivering the money to those entitled to it. As the IRS has struggled, for-profit tax preparation companies, notably Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, have stepped in with websites to help people get their checks.
But Intuit is not just acting as a conduit: It is also misleading unwary Americans by steering them to paid services that they could otherwise get for free.
The job Congress gave to the IRS in its $2 trillion CARES Act is seemingly straightforward: Identify the Americans who qualify and send them money. This turns out to be far more complicated than it sounds.
https://www.propublica.org/article/millions-of-americans-might-not-get-stimulus-checks-some-might-be-tricked-into-paying-turbotax-to-get-theirs
bluecollar2
(3,622 posts)Deduct monies owed from the total deposit...behind on your mortgage? Not any more....
Pacifist Patriot
(24,647 posts)He was a student dependent in 2018, but not in 2019. He's already filed his 2019 taxes, but my husband and I just filed ours today because we owed a fair chunk of change. The IRS used 2018 data and determined he did not qualify for a stimulus check although he is now on his own and struggling. I understand a huge percentage of 21-24 year olds are getting hit with this exact same scenario.
It's utterly ridiculous and totally predictable in a society that didn't give a shit about people in need a month ago.