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Moran To Seniors: Get Your Rebates (Connection Newspapers)
The Congressman urges the area’s seniors to file a tax return this year to claim a rebate.
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By David Schultz/ |
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February 26, 2008 |
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IT'S NOT VERY OFTEN that the IRS gives away money. So now that they are doing just that, U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) doesn’t want anyone to miss out.
Moran held a meeting in Arlington last week to inform local seniors that they were eligible for a major tax rebate. “It’s your money,” he told the seniors at the Walter Reed Community Center last Thursday, “And I want you to claim it.”
The tax rebates are a part of the economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by the President earlier this month. The package, which was designed to combat a recent economic slowdown, contained $117 billion of tax rebates for 130 million American families. Virginia families alone will be receiving almost $3 billion, or $900 each on average, according to Moran.
“The idea is that we spend it quick to reduce any possible recession,” he said.
THE ONLY CATCH in Congress’ stimulus plan is that a tax return must be filed to receive a rebate check. This could leave retirees, some of whom don’t file tax returns out in the cold.
“You’ve got to ask for it,” Moran said. “The government needs to know that you want it and then they’ll send it to you.”
To get this information out to the public, Moran brought to the meeting Loren Johnson, an IRS official who deals with seniors, and Jack Kalish, an AARP tax specialist.
“There are a lot of people who need some help in getting it done,” Kalish said. “That’s what the AARP is all about.” Kalish said that local AARP centers will be making an effort to assist seniors who don’t normally file tax returns in getting their rebate checks.
Johnson noted that even those who file after the April 15 deadline will still get the money, albeit later than everyone else. He also said that “Almost everybody gets the check. The only exception is someone who has less than $3,000 of income or someone who is a dependent.”
SEVERAL OF THOSE who attended the event said that they found the information very helpful. “People get things in the mail and don’t understand,” said Arlington retiree Betty Green. “But if you sit here and tell me things it’s so much easier.”
However, Green said that she wished that the event had been more widely publicized so more people could have attended. “The distribution of the information was narrow,” she said. “It didn’t get out to the people that need to know.”
Substitute teacher Jeanette Leigh echoed these concerns. “A lot of people weren’t contacted and didn’t know about it,” she said. “We didn’t get the information until two days ago. That makes a difference.”
Moran, for his part, said that he would continue to work to get the word out about how to claim the stimulus checks. But he was also skeptical about the rebates’ ability to forestall a recession, saying that investment in public infrastructure such as roads and bridges would be more effective.
“I don’t think [the rebates] will mean a lot, frankly,” Moran said. “But I want my constituents to get the money. If it’s being handed out let’s let them get it, particularly the ones who need it.” |
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