Economy stimulus checks to begin Monday
April 29, 2008
Raleigh, North Carolina (WiredPRNews.com) — For many, income tax returns have already come and gone leaving the wallet empty and the economy sagging. However, tax rebates have begun channeling by direct deposit into thousands of tax-payers accounts on Monday as the Bush administration began earlier than scheduled to stimulate the economy.
In an effort to jump-start the sluggish economy, the $168 billion plan was engaged to increase consumer spending and hopefully lift the state of decline. According to the Associated Press, “the Internal Revenue Service started making the deposits at 8:30 a.m. EDT Monday with the goal of completing 800,000 direct deposits each day over the first three days of this week. No deposits will be made Thursday while the IRS prepares a big batch of 5 million direct deposits scheduled on Friday.The government’s paper checks will start going out on May 9, a week earlier than previously announced. The rebates, which are expected to reach 130 million households, range up to $600 for an individual and $1,200 for a couple. Families with children will get $300 per child.”
Keeping in positive spirits as he nears the home stretch of his last term, Bush concluded that that the US is not in a period of recession but in a period of “slow growth” with the economic stimulus package, enacted in February, aiming to help it along. “It’s obvious our economy is in a slowdown. But fortunately we recognized the signs and took action,” Bush said Friday in announcing that the rebates were going out a few days earlier than expected.
As of Tax Day on April 15, all tax payers that have submitted a 2007 tax return will be eligible for a stimulus check and all checks will be expected to be mailed by July 11. The order of checks being sent out will depend on the last two digits of the tax payer’s social security number.
“Thirty-five percent of those responding to an Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance Poll earlier this month said that they planned to ruse their refund checks this year to pay utility, credit card and other bills. That was up from 27 percent who said they planned to use their tax refunds to pay bills a year ago.”
