Calif. Taxpayers Due Refunds May Get IOUs

MSNBC ^ | 12/31/08 | Patrick Healy

[TigerLikesRooster]

Calif. Taxpayers Due Refunds May Get IOUs

By Patrick Healy

NBCBayArea.com

updated 8:46 p.m. ET Dec. 31, 2008

If you expect you'll be getting a refund from California when you file your 2008 state income tax return, be prepared: you may instead receive a "registered warrant." Translation: an IOU.

California is rapidly running out of money. Blame it on the state budget deficit that continues to bleed billions of dollars from California's reserves. Facing inadequate credit to make up the difference, California's Controller John Chiang warns that by the end of February, the nation's most populous state may not be able to pay some of its debts, and instead be reduced to issuing those creditors IOUs.

"My office has projected that, in approximately 60 days, there will be insufficient cash available to meet all expenditures reflected in the 2008-09 Budget Act," stated a Tuesday letter from Controller Chiang to the directors of all state agencies. "To ensure that the State can meet its obligations to schools, debt service, and others entitled to payment under the State Constitution, federal law, or court order. California may begin, as early as February 1, 2009, issuing registered warrants...commonly referred to as IOUs...to individuals and entities in lieu of regular payments."

[TigerLikesRooster]

Here we have another criteria for determining if you live in a blue state:

Your tax refund will be paid with IOU's.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

In that case, can I pay my state tax withholdings with an IOU?

[SevenofNine]

OMGGGG that so wrongggg so many levels

My state is jack up Tiger

[cripplecreek]

Not like they would ever consider simply cutting the owed person’s taxes by the same ammount. It ain’t perfect but it beats an IOU slap in the face.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Look for the bright side.
You may pay your next property tax with IOU’s.:-)

[SevenofNine]

OH dear I never thought of that

[coloradan]

People tried that the last time Kali needed to pay in IOUs, and what I recall is that the state didn’t accept them. But that was a long time ago.

[Leisler]

We're working our way to where you give the state 6 months free labor for the state's benevolence, protection and guidance.

Years further out, you will be allowed to sell your land for a pitance and then give the state 11 months free labor in return for being allowed to live on the states land, and some basic foodstuffs, nails, rough cloth and rabbit meat on holidays.

And, thus, Americans sold themselves, and their children into neo-serfdom.

[coloradan]

(So my memory may be faulty.)

[Chode]

so can the poor bastards send in their IOU to their credit card company to pay off their Christmas shopping???

didn't think so...

[buwaya]

Actually, I think a “registered warrant” can be used to pay tax obligations. It would be difficult to arrange for withholding, but if you are a business or self-employed making quarterly payments, this may work.

[chris_bdba]

I’m sorry but as long as the state is issuing welfare checks then the refunds need to come before those do! Afterall they are the people who pay for those checks to be issued! If I were in CA right now I’d be upping my dependants until I owed about $100 a year to the state!

[ScreamingFist]

Your tax refund will be paid with IOU's.

Most importantly, the 40% of people that pay nothing.....will get nothing, for the first time.

Let the riots begin.....

[buwaya]

Yep !

Debt swaps should be possible.

[ikka]

Isn’t there something in the Constitution about states emitting “Bills of Credit”?

[rabscuttle385]

fyi

[yongin]

CA must be counting on the Magic Negro to bailout the Golden State.

[Overtaxed]

t would be difficult to arrange for withholding,

Can't you just claim more exemptions on your W4?

[bannie]

That’s what it all means to me.

Monololy money might work, too. If they can make up the rules as we go along, can’t we do the same?

[PistolPaknMama]

We're working our way to where you give the state 6 months free labor I thought we were already there. What our "tax freedom" (ha ha ha) date now?

[MarkL]

I wonder if the CA department of revenue would be willing to accept IOUs from tax payers?

Any takers? Bueller? Bueller?

I didn’t think so.

Mark

[stevem]

Your tax refund will be paid with IOU's.

Are they negotiable?

[17th Miss Regt]

Isn’t there something in the Constitution...

Please define the word in bold and explain what it means. I have vague memories of such a concept, but that was a long time ago. Does it have any application to the state of California?

[rvoitier]

Same as NYC.

Aren't they getting the message???

It's frustrating people don't see who's causing the financial problems in this country.

[Cicero]

Well, they’ll succeed in screwing the taxpayers this year, no doubt, but the state will pay a penalty for this misbehavior in the long run.

As several have suggested, the obvious thing will be for people to increase the number of declared dependents for withholding taxes, and then if necessary send a quarterly check to the feds for estimated taxes so as not to get in trouble with Uncle Sam.

The state will lose the benefit of having that cash early without paying any interest on it.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Blame it on the state budget deficit that continues to bleed billions of dollars from California's reserves.

Right! Correctly, blame should fall on the fiscally irresponsible leftists that run the CA government, not on a nebulous "state budget deficit" that just seems to have magically materialized.

[upchuck]

California is rapidly running out of money. Blame it on the state budget deficit that continues to bleed billions of dollars from California's reserves legislators inability to enact massive spending cuts.

Sorry, at least now it's truthful.

[Clock King]

I thought liberals were happy to pay more taxes.

[Chewbacca]

When they try and tax you next year send them back the IOU they sent and say ‘Paid in Full’.

[dragnet2]

In that case, can I pay my state tax withholdings with an IOU?

No problem, what are they going to do when most are broke anyway? lol

[Comparative Advantage]

While I am amused by Mexifornia’s budget crisis, the sad part is many of their idiot voters will decide to move to states like Nevada and Arizona and proceed to screw them up, too.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Try former East Germany's solution. Land mines, T-shaped barbed wire fence, machine gun nests along the state border with CA.:-)

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Mostly they’re happy to COLLECT more taxes.

[nevergore]

This is awesome!

You’ll see a true taxpayer revolt when this happens.....

The “stick it to the rich guy” comes home to roost.....someone other than me syndrome....

They’ll be saying “Oops...now it is me....hang the politicians!!!!”

Cut gubernment spending by 1/3.....

[2harddrive]

SUCKERS! You should have been UNDERWITHELD....then sent THEM the IOU!

[lainie]

...And what interest will the state be paying to these financial warrant holders?

[lainie]

from the article:

One final irony, Tobin sees: electronic deposit refunds are inexpensive to do. Instead sending out IOUs is a more costly procedure for a state looking to save money.

That's pretty sad, yo.

[Leisler]

It is the same. They just let us work around the plantation, and then we give them the same slips of paper back, called dollars.

Previous slave/serf societies didn’t have printing presses. Now they do.

[IYAS9YAS]

And yet, if you try to do the same thing to the state for money you owe, you get draconian penalties and interest tacked on.

[Ron Jeremy]

Dumbasses. All this means now is everyone is going to under-withhold, making the crises even worse.

[PAR35]

You should be able to use it as an offset for future obligations owed the state. But I’m guessing that the state will disagree.

[Graybeard58]

I thought liberals were happy to pay more taxes.

Well, it is patriotic to pay more taxes - Joe Biden said so.

[marshmallow]

The largest, richest state in the Union running out of money and issuing IOUs?

Can we say "as California goes, so goes the USA"?

[Mojave]

I wonder if someone who owes taxes to the FTB will be allowed to use an IOU?

[Political Junkie Too]

I guess I can't use my state refund to pay my federal underage this year.

-PJ

[PERKY2004]

So would it be ok for me to pay my taxes to the state with an IOU??? (Probably not)

[Buddy B]

TITLE: Calif. Taxpayers Due Refunds May Get IOUs

So, where will CA get the money to print the IOUs? Plus, USPS wants to be PAID for the postage.....

Got family members living in the Great state of California.

[JohnBovenmyer]

There once was an archaic fixed document called the Constitution, which has zero relevance to any modern court of lawLiberalism. It still retains a quaint level of historical interest along with that other discredited screed, the bible. For the sake of the those who failed their original NEA programming, and until the Messiah arranges for their re-education, here is the worthless reference, with emphasis added, from Article I, Section 10.

No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.

[RasterMaster]

They should stop paying state income taxes and send Arnie an IOU instead.