skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

New IRS Deadline For Employers: Goal is Protecting Your Refund

play audio
Play

Tuesday, December 27, 2016   

AUGUSTA, Maine – Employers across New England and the nation are scrambling today to meet a new end-of-month deadline that is designed to protect your income-tax refund. The change is part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes or "PATH" Act, and AARP volunteer fraud-fighter Norma Boyce said the goal is to prevent tax refunds from falling into the wrong hands. The change requires employers to get W2 forms to the government by January 31st, so they can do some cross-checking before they mail your refund.

"When people file their return, they take what's on their return and match it to what the employers or the payers have sent in, which is a very good idea, because that's going to stop some fraudulent returns right at the source," she explained.

Boyce said if you're claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit this year, any credits or refunds will be delayed until February 15th, again, that's so the IRS can be sure it's sending the return to the right person. You don't need to delay filing for those credits.

She added that federal authorities made progress in 2016 cracking down on scammers from foreign call centers who claimed to be from the IRS and were using personal information to trick taxpayers into thinking they owed more money. Boyce said a major federal indictment came down in October.

"They were able to locate this operation out of India, and 56 people were indicted that were siphoning more than $300 million from victims," she said. "The government said it was the largest phone fraud to target Americans in history."

Boyce said while those fraudsters are out of business, it's no time to let your guard down.

"Be very suspicious of any calls asking for money, whether it is a federal authority, a state authority or anybody," she said. "And remember, the IRS does not call."

Another sign of progress, the IRS reports that, in the first nine months of this year, only half as many people filed affidavits saying they were victims of identity theft compared with 2015.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021