Free Republic

Atlanta News First reports that Atlanta taxpayers endured extensive queues outside the city’s Tax Assistance Center, but not everyone was looking for last-minute help from the IRS ahead of the April 15 tax filing deadline. The center was open Saturday with extended hours, allowed individuals to engage directly with IRS representatives regarding their refunds, but the demand to do so led to hours-long waits under the sun. A majority of the people in line had received an email or letter from the IRS stating they had to verify their identity in person. The notification went on to say their refund...

Tax refunds so far this year are noticeably smaller than they were at the same time last year, according to early data published by the IRS. The average refund check so far this year is worth $1,395 as of Feb. 2, about 29% lower compared to the $1,963 average recorded last year. That is based on nearly 2.6 million tax refunds collectively worth about $3.65 billion. However, the IRS has cautioned taxpayers the average refund amount will likely change in the coming months as more returns are processed.

Millions of Americans awaiting their refund checks could be disappointed, as early data shows that average workers are receiving 29 percent less in tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this year. The average refund check through February 2 is worth $1,395, according to statistics published by the IRS on Thursday. This amount is significantly less compared to the $1,963 received on average last year. Despite the noticeable reduction in the average refund issued this year so far, the IRS does not appear alarmed, noting that the average refund amount is likely to change in the coming months. The...

America's tax debts are spiraling after the IRS put a halt to chasing payments during the pandemic. Some 18.6 million taxpayers owed the IRS $316 billion in overdue taxes at the end of 2022, up from 16.8 million owing $308 billion in September 2019. And the figures are only set to grow this year. Experts are warning that workers who have been used to getting refunds in the last few years can swing into money owed for 2024. The trend has been fueled by the end of pandemic tax relief and also a booming stock market which puts more investors...

A woman was horrified after finding a 'worm' in a sandwich she bought from a Subway outlet at The Central on July 15. Stomp contributor Li told Stomp she visited the restaurant at about 4.45pm and ordered a 12-inch chicken tandoori sub to share with her two children, aged three and five. "Subway used to be our healthier choice when we want our kids to eat vegetables," she said. "We consumed our food at around 6pm. "Close to the end of our last bite, I saw a worm wriggling. "The worm did not look like a vegetable worm, more like...

Portland, OR was one of the leading voices in the “Defund the Police” movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Politicians gave into the demands of like-minded rioters and activists and began cutting the budget of the city’s Bureau of Police. On its face, this should have been seen as a bad decision since the very people making the demands were rioting and damaging private and public property. So, at a time when a greater police presence was needed, city government cut back on police. The politicians gave into the demands of criminals and expected them to… what? Go...

Wednesday, during an appearance on FNC’s “Hannity,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argued now that the Mueller probe was in the rear-view mirror, more and more was come to light about the 2016 Clinton campaign and had left him questioning what the special counsel investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller had missed. According to the South Carolina Republican lawmaker, a “refund” was warranted on the Mueller investigation.

Taxpayers hoping to treat themselves this year with their tax refund money may have to wait till next year for their reward after the IRS revealed its processing backlog is more than twice as big as it previously reported. The Internal Revenue Service is still struggling to process close to 24 million tax return filings from last year, according to a report by the Washington Post. That's more than twice as much as the 11.4 million unprocessed business and individual returns that the tax agency reported in mid-December 2021. The bureaucratic snarl threatens to delay many tax refunds for 10...

Several Republican Attorney Generals from across the U.S. have already publicly announced that their offices will be looking into whether GoFundMe violated any state laws in response to the fundraising website canceling a fundraiser for Canadian truckers and initially stating that they would send the funds to other charities.

The crowd sourced GoFundMe platform said Saturday it will automatically refund what is left of the estimated $10 million raised for the Canadian trucker convoy protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates after Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and others threatened a fraud investigation into the operation. "The update we issued earlier enabled all donors to get a refund and outlined a plan to distribute remaining funds to verified charities selected by the Freedom Convoy organizers. However, due to donor feedback, we are simplifying the process and automatically refunding donations," the organization posted to Twitter early Saturday.

If you're a Saints ticket holder and refuse the COVID-19 vaccination or test, you'll not only be barred from entering the Superdome, but you also won't get a refund on your ticket -- i.e., follow their safety protocol or take the monetary loss.

WEST TEXAS—Outer space has returned an unwanted Amazon package that was sent to it unsolicited yesterday. According to witnesses, the package floated gently back down to earth after being rejected. Locals have asked Amazon to please "pick this thing up and bring it back to the warehouse" as no one really wants it around or knows what to do with it. If you know who ordered a giant metal gumdrop with 4 dudes in it, please call Amazon immediately.

In Naperville, Illinois, the school board announced it would distribute $10 million back to taxpayers this year. Yes. A tax refund. In a news release, Superintendent Dan Bridges told residents that he "understands the great burden many of our families have faced during the COVID-19 Pandemic and hopes that this reimbursement lessens that burden." The typical family will receive a refund of $200 to $500. Good for Naperville. The 10-month pandemic shutdown generated a savings of roughly $20 million, or about 6.5% out of a $300 million school budget. The Naperville Sun reported that the district's expenses for everything from...

The New York Times is out with a huge scoop and somehow obtained thousands of tax returns for President Trump and related entities going back “more than two decades”: The New York Times has obtained tax-return data extending over more than two decades for Mr. Trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization, including detailed information from his first two years in office. It does not include his personal returns for 2018 or 2019. This article offers an overview of The Times’s findings; additional articles will be published in the coming weeks. So, who leaked it?

Back in May, we were already seeing cases of couples who spent a year or more planning their weddings, only to have those plans dashed by the pandemic. Some of them learned that the tens of thousands of dollars they had paid in advance would not be refunded. Those first instances in the news took place in Chicago, but it was easy to see that the same thing would be taking place elsewhere. This week we learn of some similar situations taking place in Texas, and these may be shaping up into a class-action lawsuit. (CBS Dallas-Fort Worth) A...

A Drexel University student has filed a class action lawsuit against the college demanding a refund for tuition and other fees for the Spring 2020 semester that was disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Grainger Rickenbacker, the filing plaintiff, is a full-time student at Drexel University and hails from South Carolina. He asserts that he and other students paid for services that were not delivered by their school. The form of those payments were tuition costs and other related expenses.

The hashtag #RefundWarren trended on Twitter as supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders encouraged anyone who had donated to Senator Elizabeth Warren's 2020 campaign through the ActBlue platform to request a refund. Some Twitter users posted screenshots purporting to show ActBlue processing refunds of their donations to Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat. Several screenshots of refund request emails appeared to show ActBlue stating that they were "currently experiencing high volumes." While some claimed to be requesting refunds, a number of Warren supporters using the hashtag said it had encouraged them to donate more money to her campaign. It was not immediately clear...

A church congregation tired of sowing seeds and not being able to harvest anything have unleashed their wrath on their pastor who came to the church in a new range rover. The Ghanian pastor is said to have continuously asked his church congregation to give out tithe to receive more blessings. The church gave all they could but as days went by, their blessings showed no signs of knocking on their doors. The young pastor was nabbed while entering a government building compound with his wife seated at the passenger’s seat. The youth of his church pounced on the preacher...

I was looking at my credit card statement Saturday night, when I saw an entry for "CARD SECURITY 1 800 815 4051", for nearly as much as the Interest Charge. Turns out, that some banks are hiding a sign-up for their hideously overpriced "Card Security" services. I never signed up, and yet they had dinged me for a substantial sum over the last 5 years. And, of course, they're only open 9AM to 9PM, weekdays. I did a little investigating, and found that the Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Fauxchahontas' brainchild, had investigated them, and every single time, a full...

On Monday, Equifax settled with the US Federal Trade Commission over its 2017 data breach, which affected 147 million Americans. The settlement of up to $700 million includes as much as $425 million for individual compensation. With so many Americans affected, it's very likely you could qualify for some form of compensation as a result of the settlement. And with so many names, addresses, birthdates and Social Security numbers leaked, you could still be at long-term risk for identity theft.