via BlackAmericaWeb:
TODAY YOU ARE HERE TO HELP US PREPARE FOR A POTENTIALLY BUMPY TAX SEASON. WHY?
Even though the federal government has reopened for three weeks, the shutdown is expected to have ripple effects for taxpayers. The lack of funding for the IRS prevented large swaths of the agency from operating during a time its worker receive training and prepare for their busiest time of year.
And despite the White House calling 46,000 I.R.S. employees back to work, it will take time to get operations back up to speed ,according to the president of National Treasury Employees Union. All of this is compounded by a reduction in IRS funding before the shutdown and the fact that IRS staffers are still adjusting to the new tax law passed in December of 2017.
WHAT SHOULD WE BE PREPARED FOR AS A RESULT OF THESE ISSUES?
One word: delays. The IRS – like many other agencies – is playing catchup as workers try to deal with business left unattended to during the longest federal government shutdown in history. According to a recent New York Times article, responses to written correspondence to the agency have been delayed, just 1 in 5 callers trying to reach the IRS Automated Collection System have been able to get through to a representative, and hold times have been as long as an hour. In addition to this, the changes tax code mean it may take longer for staffers to provide assistance to taxpayers and address problems that arise.
So, while the IRS expects refunds to be issues on schedule – usually within 3 weeks of receiving returns if they were filed electronically and paid by direct deposit – they may, in fact, take much longer. Considering 3 in 4 returns result in a refund, and many people rely on this money, some Americans could feel the pinch if refunds do not arrive in a timely fashion.
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