FDIC Opposes $1.4 Billion Refund for JPMorgan

From the Associated Press:

Federal regulators are opposing a proposed $1.4 billion tax refund for JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The tax benefit has become an issue a year and a half after the Wall Street titan galloped in to buy the assets of Washington Mutual Inc. when it collapsed under bad mortgage loans and became the biggest bank ever to fail in the U.S.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized Seattle-based Washington Mutual and sold its bank assets to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion.

JPMorgan has been involved in the bankruptcy reorganization proceeding for Washington Mutual's holding company, and had reached a compromise earlier this month with the FDIC.

Under that accord, JPMorgan agreed to turn over about $4 billion in disputed WaMu deposit accounts to Washington Mutual in return for a portion of the tax refunds expected from the fallen bank's prior operating losses.

JPMorgan would get the right to the $1.4 billion and creditors of the WaMu holding company would get the most of the remaining $2.7 billion refund.

Under economic stimulus legislation enacted late last year, money-losing companies — in this case WaMu — can use their losses to get refunds of taxes paid in the previous five years. That was an expansion from the previous two-year allowance for calculating refunds.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everyone! In honor of the day, I decided to “recycle” an older blog entry that I originally posted a few months ago. If you are looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint while saving money then be sure to check out 10 “Green” Ways to Use your Tax Refund.

Free File For Telephone Tax Refund

Because of the confusion over the telephone tax refund the IRS is reminding telephone users who do not normally file tax returns that they can take advantage of the Free File system to request a telephone tax refund. According to the IRS the Free File system is the easiest and quickest way to request the refund, which could arrive in taxpayers bank accounts in about two weeks. IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson claims, "Fee File is a great choice for people who don’t normally need to file a tax return but who are entitled to this special telephone excise tax refund." For more information on requesting a telephone tax refund through Free File, visit the IRS’s official site.

$92.2 Million in Unclaimed Refunds

The IRS recently announced that they are waiting on 95,746 taxpayers whose refund checks have been returned undeliverable to the IRS. The total amount is over $92.2 million dollars, with an average refund of $963. The IRS Commissioner made this announcement to encourage taxpayers to notify the IRS with their updated address by using new features on the IRS’s website. You can now go to the "Where Is My Refund" page on the IRS website and find out if you are owed any money by the IRS. Or if you prefer you can request the form by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). For more information visit the IRS’s website at www.IRS.gov.

Phone-Tax Refunds

In August the Treasury Department stopped collecting a three-percent tax on long distance calls, which has been in effect since the time of the Spanish American War back in 1898. It was also announced that the IRS would refund all money collected since March 2003 under the long distance tax. The government is expected to return up to $13 billion to individuals, businesses, and organizations. WashingtonPost.com has a helpful article with more details on this new return, including how to calculate the refund amount. To read the article click here.