Help is on the way

I'm spending mine in Seattle on good beer and fresh seafood. And maybe a fridge magnet.

 

I'm buying a cheap, low-mileage car a friend turned me on to.

 

Come on, I'll show you how. Just put your hand here.......

 

I'm also "rich" by government standards. Maybe I should start voting Republican to protect all of my capital gains income? Oh wait, I don't have any of that, either.

 

The summer 2001 checks were not a rebate of taxes paid the previous April, as many thought. Instead, they were an advance on the refund taxpayers were going to get in April 2002.

That meant refunds in April 2002 were $300 smaller than they would have been without the summer 2001 checks. And those who owed taxes faced a tax bill $300 higher.

The 2008 checks ARE a rebate and are NOT taxable income.

Instead, the government is looking at the $9,600 (or whatever) you paid in taxes and is telling you "You only owed $9,000, not $9,600, so here is your $600 difference."

 

Thanks for clearing that up. You could fit what I know about taxes and economics into a thimble ...

 

I wish there were a way to determine how much of rebate checks will go to the oil companies.

Mine? IRA, every cent.

 

They're giving us back our own money. Maybe that's a way to look at it.

 

I'm liking Yawn 2.0 totally.

 

I am clearly an economic retard so I ask this question. We plan on putting this rebate towards some new windows in order to make our house better and more attractive to buyers in a couple of years. Would we be better off putting it in an IRA or is this not a win/win. We get something we need and a local construction firm makes some money?

 

Put it in the IRA. If anything happens, you'll have money that the government can't touch.