Thursday, January 15, 2009

CA may Issue IOUs for Tax Refunds

From ABCNews.com:

With the state budget crisis ongoing, the state's Controller says California may be forced to send out IOUs instead of refunds.

Hoping to get her state income tax refund as soon as possible, Akisha Marshall is getting a jump-start on her filing.

ABC7 asked her, "How much do you depend on your refund?"

"A lot. It's just like a job check," she said laughingly.

Last year 2.7 million people got their state refund in February totaling $2 billion. But, this single mom and other Californians may have to wait for their refund this year.

It is Day 61 of the state's budget stalemate and the state will run out of cash next month. It is at the point where the Controller will have to issue IOUs to pay the bills, including state tax refunds.

"An IOU is a registered warrant issued on behalf of the state's treasury that lets the individual receiving the IOU know that they will receive their funds at a later date," explained Jacob Roper with the State Controller's Office.

When asked, "How much later?" Roper replied, "We don't know."

State lawmakers just came back from a long holiday break to continue budget negotiations. Republicans still do not want to raise taxes and Democrats do not want deeper cuts to social programs.

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