US Government Targets Its Own Citizens In Massive Tax Rebate Fraud

Is the MSM going to ever point this out?

do they ever? and isn't it sneaky that their mailing all of these checks out without giving anyone a chance to say no?

If we don't accept the check will they still deduct it from next years return?

Sucha Fool is starting to sound more and more like the Radio Moscow of old.

however, this is legitimate...

[link to articles.moneycentral.msn.com]

America, don't blow this rebate

Congress wraps up the details: $300 for retirees, $600 for most individuals and $1,200 for most couples. But wait, there's more: It's not really free money.

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By Liz Pulliam Weston

Some Americans are getting awfully excited about the prospect of spending their own money.

The $168 billion economic stimulus package just passed by Congress will ship checks of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples starting in May. Most households will get these checks, although individuals with adjusted gross incomes of more than $75,000 and couples making more than $150,000 will see less or nothing at all.

Additionally, families will get $300 per child.

The biggest change since the original proposal: Those who paid no income taxes will get $300 as long as they earned at least $3,000, including veterans disability or Social Security benefits.

An estimated 130 million taxpayers will share the rebate money.

Here's what you need to keep in mind while you're waiting:

This isn't free money -- for most people

To produce this cash, Congress created a one-time tax credit to reduce taxable income for most taxpayers this year.

Normally, you wouldn’t see that cash until the spring of 2009, when you filed your 2008 return. But Congress wants to speed that money to you now, so checks will start going out in May.

Smart Spending blog: Rebate? Bonus? One is easier to spend
Remember, this is your money you're getting back, and the rebate checks are basically an advance on your 2009 refund. When similar rebates were sent out in 2001, said tax expert Mark Luscombe, "a lot of people were upset to see their (next) refund reduced."

The only people for whom this really is free money are low-income folks (those who earn at least the minimum $3,000 required to trigger the checks or who receive at least $3,000 in Social Security or veterans benefits) who won't end up owing any taxes for 2008. If that's your situation, or you somehow wind up with a check when you technically shouldn't have -- you earned income in 2007 but won't in 2008, for example -- you won't have to pay back the money, said Luscombe, a principal analyst for tax research firm CCH.

More from MSN Money



Why the caveman in you wants to spend and spend
Calculator: What $1,200 could grow into
Talk back: Share your plans for your check
Why you need $500 in the bank
Little splurges are the killers
By the way, even if you didn't earn enough in 2007 to be required to file a tax return by April 15, Luscombe said, you probably should do so anyway to make sure you get on the Internal Revenue Service's mailing list for the rebates.

The agency will get information from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Security to make sure those recipients get rebate checks, Luscombe said, "but regular taxpayers will need to file (for 2007) to get on the list."

Spending money is not your patriotic duty

Yes, Congress and President Bush hope you'll blow this money as quickly as possible to give the economy a shot in the arm.

But politicians' short-term attempts to influence the economy -- and their ability to get re-elected -- should not be your primary concern. Doing what's right and responsible for your own finances will leave you better off and will probably be better for the economy in the long run.

Credit card rates are on the rise

I mention this because some people have been able to carry hefty credit card balances at remarkably low interest rates for years, but those days may be numbered. Many banks are cutting back on their low-rate transfer offers and jacking up rates even for good customers. If you have any credit card debt, the best use for your rebate check is likely to be paying it off.

Continued: Blow some, save the rest

>>>>>>>>> [link to articles.moneycentral.msn.com]

Continued from page 1

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You'll be in good company, according to recent polls. Forty-seven percent of those polled by Harris Interactive for CCH and 42% polled by Zogby International for TransUnion said they planned to use the checks to pay down debt. (The Harris poll didn't provide a margin of error; the Zogby poll's margin of error was plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.)

In both polls, 21% said they planned to spend the check. The rest said they'd save or gave some other answer.

Middle- and lower-income householders were more likely to say they were going to pay off debt. Debt payers included:

52% of those with household incomes of less than $35,000.
57% of those with incomes of $35,000 to less than $50,000.
50% of those with incomes of $50,000 to less than $75,000.
44% of those with incomes of more than $75,000.
Just remember that paying off a chunk of debt won't get you ahead if you just wind up charging up the cards again. Check out the Smart Spending blog for ideas on how to trim your expenses and create a debt payoff plan so you can say goodbye to credit card debt forever.

More from MSN Money



Why the caveman in you wants to spend and spend
Calculator: What $1,200 could grow into
Talk back: Share your plans for your check
Why you need $500 in the bank
Little splurges are the killers
Even though this windfall really isn't a windfall, it'll be hard to convince your brain of that fact once you have the check in hand. Consider satisfying the urge to splurge by spending a portion of the check (10% maybe, 20% max) and saving the rest.

If you don't think it's worth saving such a small amount, read "Why you need $500 in the bank" to learn how a cushion of just a few hundred bucks can have truly life-changing benefits.

If you're going to buy, buy American

The whole point of these checks is ostensibly to keep the U.S. from sliding into a recession. Buying more stuff made in China won't accomplish that end. In fact, it will make our already mind-blowing trade deficit even worse.

So no plasma TV for you, bucko. If you care about the U.S. economy, buy an Oreck vacuum, a Speed Queen washer or dryer, a Whirlpool dishwasher or an Amana fridge. Or plan a nice little getaway somewhere local, so you're spending on food, services and lodging that will keep the money in the U.S. rather than on foreign oil. (Try "A cheapskate's guide to 29 cities.")

Liz Pulliam Weston's new book, "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life," is now available. Columns by Weston, the Web's most-read personal-finance writer and winner of the 2007 Clarion Award for online journalism, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message

they're is going to be a lot of shocked people next year when they don't get their refunds i betcha

So, what happens in 2009 when you think you're getting a tax rebate and H&R Block laughs in your face?

This is a scam, luring in millions of people to spend their own money and then get taxed on that very same money a second time around. But most Americans are too stupid to realize it.

When I get my tax rebate check, it's going back to them with "How stupid do you think I am?" on it. Well, that's what it will say when you put the two pieces back together, anyway.

Don't cash it... Tear it in half!

J

I'ma spend the money quick. Might not be no 2009!

So, if you don't get a refund on your 2009 taxes but, instead, have to pay taxes to the IRS in 2009, will you owe *back* the rebate/credit you received in 2008 -- on top of the rest of the taxes you owe? Anyone know?

I think Sorcha is wrong.The bill reads that it is a tax credit paid in advance against the 2008 taxes.You can still take your normal deductions and exemption for 2008 and get your normal refund.Credits on tax do not reduce refunds,but add to them, this one paid in advance.They aren't going to dupe you in an election year.

I'm going to use my tax rebate check to pay property tax!

I wish some tax expert would answer this one....What worries me is that if I don't accept the check, will these crooks STILL hold me liable for it?

I put NOTHING past the thugs running this insane asylum anymore...

Anyone have any thoughts about this? As the costra nosa (sp) would say, is this an offer you can't refuse?

I see that I will have to go read the bill myself and chat with my CPA. That's cool, I can do that. On a side note, from the insignificant perspective of a dopey dupe: Duping the dopes seems to be particularly successful in an election year.

Just another thought, and then I'm gone: Wouldn't it be entertaining if EVERYONE retained their rebate/credit -- socked it into a savings account, CD, whatever. Then, when the 2008 taxes rolled around, it could be spent -- if all was on the up-and-up. We won't know until then whether or not we're being played.

Anyone else want to burn their checks in a giant protest?

Take every cent of it and put it into silver or gold.
Good idea to be buying some silver each month anyway.

In Feb or Mar 2009, cash out what you need for taxes. You will probably be ahead as the price of silver and gold will be going through the roof.

And don't forget to buy some beans, rice, spices, butter (and clarify it) and vitamins and seeds for a garden

Wow! Sorcha got a pin.

WRONG THIS TIME!!!!!!!

READ THIS FROM URE:

but we are now finding out that the much touted 'tax rebate" (which implies an unencumbered return of some portion of tax paid) is nothing more than a bait and switch - an advance 'credit' on your 2008 taxes.



So, to put it more simply: If you were going to get a refund a year from now when you do this year's taxes you'll instead be acknowledging that you already got part of it.



The idea that this didn't cost corpgov anything - nor did it impose additional restraints on spending - verges on fraud, as I see it.







But honestly, what amazed me was the arrogance of the politicos in the District of Corruption who think they can use a term like "rebate" (*which might mean they would rein in some of their pork projects to make ends meet) versus a "cash advance" on 2008 taxes paid.



The hell of it is, that their arrogance is likely well-placed. Besides calling my CONgressperson Monday and Texas' two sinators to express my disapproval of such hi-jinx, there's not much I can do except maybe point out that all the front-running presidential wannabes had a hand in this (or a vote) and I don't hear any of them 'telling it like it is'.


[link to www.urbansurvival.com]

David fricken Booth...what was it that farmer got on C2C for again? What 'does' it mean anyway.,,?
LOL

:whogives:

Correct. If you owe taxes, you will have to pay back the "rebate" also. Imagine all the interest & penalties on $1200.

Guys, it's right there in the bill. It's not free money, it's a loan on your next return.

Who this is really going to hurt are the seniors that get a SS check. They will get what's normally a $500 or so dollar monthly check, will be an $800 check.

But come next month, their normally $500 check will be but a $300 check. You guys are being duped by thinking it's free money.

Ahh...Just 'gives'...

Why would this suprise anyone. They did the exact same thing last time.

So says you.

"Sorcha Faal" a.k.a. *Brian Boothe*....

Here's the MOST IMPORTANT part of this "rebate" that everyone is missing ...

If you cash your check, YOU ARE ENTERING INTO A CONTRACT WITH THE IRS, and that's the WHOLE POINT of this scam. It's designed to cut off the head of the anti-tax movement.

Think about it.

Does it matter whose names on it? Given the govs track record, whose interests do you think they're really looking out for? Here's the hint:

An American economist, Peter Morici from the University of Maryland, has also noted the odd ‘coincidence’ that the amount of monies under this new law equal the massive losses incurred by US banks from their loan debacles, and as he states:

“It’s a good thing [US stimulus package] , but it’s not enough to head off recession. We’re talking about $150 billion, so this roughly offsets what the banks have lost” in soured housing investments." [link to www.dailytimes.com.pk]





Grab your favorite lubricant and then your ankles, cause your governments got lovin on it's mind.

Dear Morons of GLP:

Sorcha Faal is an idiot. And George Ure got his from your post yesterday.

The rebate is against the credit you will get on your 2008 return. Ex. get to the normal bottom line, owe $1,000, subtract credit, owe $400. But, you already got the $600. So pay $1,000. Pay $1,000, less rebate of $600 received earlier, net $400. Voila.

A little too tough for the pinheads that go into what passes for "journalism" these days.

Anybody who listens to this forum or the general media for financial advice deserves what they get.