Shame on Uncle Sam, give hard working American’s hope of an economic stimulus tax rebate, only to surprise them on their tax return - how sly is that?
According to US News & World Report:
The IRS estimates that payments will start going out in early May, in amounts generally ranging from $300 to $600 for individuals and up to $1,200 for couples filing a joint return—plus up to $300 more for each dependent younger than 17.
What they fail to mention, is higher-income tax payers will have their rebate reduced, or eliminated. According to TurboTax,
If you adjusted gross income is above $75K ($150K if married and filling jointly), the rebate is reduced by 5% of the AGI.
What if you had no income in 2007, take a look at the message TurboTax flags:
Unfortunately, you don’t qualify for the tax rebate for 2008 because you didn’t have enough eligible income….your qualifing income is less than $3.000 and you didn’t owe any taxes. Qualifying income includes:
- Earned Income, such as wages
- Social Security benefits
- Veteran’s disability benefits
- Railroad Retirement benefits
- Survivor pension benefits
- Nontaxable combat pay
Given this, one can’t help but ask what was the intent behind the Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate? What about folks who had no income, such as students who don’t qualify as dependents, not to mention are pilled up high in student loans? Or, perhaps TurboTax has got it wrong - whats the truth? Is the Economic Stimulus rebate meant for all, regardless of economic status, or what?
Shame on Uncle Sam for giving hardworking American’s hope, only to pull back. What about the Silicon Wadi denizen’s, who’s per-capita income, though may be higher than the National average, have to suffer the excruciating rising cost of living in in the Wadi - from increasing Rents to rising gas prices how are the Wadiwalleh to cope?
