Sept. 9, 2008 — If you're waiting for a tax-stimulus check, don't worry — it's in the mail, or will be soon.
The V.I. Bureau of Internal Revenue has practically finished doling out so-called stimulus checks to tax filers who made the April 15 deadline for filing returns. However, not all checks were issued in time for the BIR's self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline because of mold problems in the St. Thomas facility, according to Executive Director Gizette Thomas.
"We actually had to close down the first floor, and operations were curtailed several times throughout the months of June and July," she said. "It put us back a bit."
However, on-time tax filers should all have their rebates in hand by Sept. 30, Thomas said.
"We get in 40,000 income tax returns a year and we've … already issued 32,500 stimulus rebates in the amount of $25 million," she said. The BIR has approximately 1,000 returns left to process from the April 15 deadline, "a good majority" of whom will receive a stimulus rebate, Thomas said. Although some filers will not qualify for a stimulus payment, such as those with high incomes, most will.
The Economic Stimulus Package of 2008 was designed by President George W. Bush to pump money into the slowing economy in hopes of triggering a consumer-spending revival. The stimulus rebate is equal to the taxpayer's net income tax liability, but no more than $600 for a single person or $1,200 for a married couple filing a joint return. The minimum payment is $300 for a single person or $600 for a married couple filing jointly.
People who do not have to file income taxes, such as Social Security recipients, veterans and some low-income taxpayers, are still encouraged to file a return this year, as they may be eligible for a rebate. Oct. 15 is the deadline to file to receive a rebate check this calendar year.
People with questions about the rebate or their tax refund should call the BIR at 715-1040 on St. Thomas and St. John, and 773-1040 on St. Croix, Thomas said.
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