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• Thursday, JANUARY 24, 2019
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Preventing The Don’t Let Predatory Tax Fall of America Loans Take Your Refunds By Dr. John E. Warren
By Charlene Crowell NNPA Newswire Contributor
Publisher
As w e h ave cel e br a ted the bir t hd a y and con t ri b ution of Dr. Martin Luther Kin g , J r., one has to be concerned about the America that has inherited his dream. There is a movement afoot to turn back the clock and to undo all our social gains. If it were not for the internet and the rising tide of social con s ci o usness, we would repeat the history of so many civilizations bef o re us that fell from within. If we a llow the government shutdown to c on t inue, we will accelerate the collapse from within. Consider the hundreds of thousands of people now missing their second paycheck, those responsible for our nat i on ’ s’ security like the Coast Gua rd a nd TSA working without a paycheck. Food inspectors and those who in s pect our airlines working wit hout pay; national parks closed, con t ra c tors who perform vital ser v ic e s out of work and without means of collecting back pay because of the nature of their contracts, and air tr a ffic controllers, like so many Ame r ic a ns, staying on the job out of commitment to this great nation, in s pi t e of the financial hardships. Consider the mortgages, rents, loans and ca r payments not being made with no requirements that landlords and ba n ks be understanding and extend grace periods for repayment. The 38 million persons receiving foo d s t amps who are at risk of no foo d w h ile many good hearted Ame r ic a ns are creating food pantries to help their neighbors. The homeless, once marked by many, are now on the verge of having company as t ho u sands of persons could lose the i r f ederal housing assistance for rents. And now we see that even the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations wit h in the Department of Justice) emp l oy e es are at risk to lose their hea l th insurance coverage if payments are not restored soon. The is s ue is bigger than “A Wall” and President Trump should be tried for treason and breach of his duties as President of the United States. He
took an oath to Protect and Defend the Constitution of the United States and, in doing so, the American people. His ac t ions on the government shutdown has done more to support Russia and our “enemies, foreign and domest ic” than pushing the button on h is nuclear briefcase. The chaos he has created and those members of the U.S. Senate who have supported him by doing nothing has caused greater harm to our global standing than the threat of an outright attack. The actions of the President and the Republ ican Senate that stands with him have sent a global alarm to our enem ies that we are now weak and disorganized. Such a position invites military conflicts. We as a nation must not only pray that God will once again forgive our sins and hea l the land, even as Dr. King pra y ed so often, but we must also move to pressure those Republican members of the United States Senate sta nding with Trump to either join the nu mber necessary to override a Trump veto and a Mitch McConnell blo c k vote in the Senate to end the shu t dow n or have them face recall or impeachment for malfeasance in office or trial for high crimes. Ele v en to thirteen Republican senators joining with the Democrats can pass the bill, which both houses agr e ed to before Christmas, and ove r ri d e a Trump Veto. The very exi s te n ce of this nation rests on such actions. Already, over 7 million people have signed petitions calling for th e impeachment of Donald Tru mp. America no longer has the lux u ry of waiting for the Mueller Rep o rt . We must reach out to our fri e nd s , relatives and neighbors in eve r y s tate in which a Republican Sen a to r supporting Trump’s shutdown is seated and demand that he or she (the U.S. Senator standing wit h T r ump on this shutdown) either break away and vote to reopen gov e rn m ent or resign. The issue is gre a te r than our differences and “Th e Wa ll.” The Democrats in the Hou s e a nd Senate should “Stand Their Ground.”
For ma n y con s um e rs, the New Year brings an a nnu al effort to f il e taxes early enough to help pay of f big bills, replace major appliances or tuck away a few bucks for the proverbial ‘rainy day’.
encourage unsuspecting consumers to take out a short-term loan like a Ref u nd Anticipation Loan (RAL). Dep o si t ory institutions like banks sel l a ‘service’ known as a Refund Ant i ci p ating Check (RAC) that is mos t appealing to consumers who lack a bank account.
With a continuing federal shutdown, this year there are also an estimated 800 , 00 0 federal workers who have not had a payday since December. For th e se consumers, an early tax ref u nd could cover basic living needs like housing, food, child care and utilities.
Neither product is as helpful as they appear.
And across the country, advertising – p a rt i cularly on urban radio – tem p ts listeners with easy ways to g et a loan against anticipated tax re f unds. But just like other pre d at o ry lending products, what is a dv e rtised is not quite what consumers receive.
“Convenient tax-related loans almost always come with a price that takes a big bite out of consumers’ money.” The bi g ger the refund, the more attentive and helpful “tax preparers” will be in helping with e-filing, the electronic processing that typically res u lt s in refunds in two to three business days. Once the size of the ref u nd is known, these preparers
RAL s a r e usually marketed as an ‘advance’ instead of a loan. Instead of interest, many of these loans come wit h “ f ees” or a “finance charge.” Convers ely, a Refund Anticipation Check or RAC is sold as a temporary bank account that exists exclusively to receive the IRS refund. Once the refund reaches the consumer’s bank account, either a prepaid card or a che c k i s issued by the depository ins t it u tion. And once again, fees taken out of the refund reduce the amou nt of monies that consumers actually receive. The biggest target for both of these pro d uc t s are consumers with the largest refunds, especially those who are el i gible for the Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs), one of the few tax break programs available to lowto- m od e rate income consumers, and / or the Additional Child Tax Credit. To b e e ligible for EITC, earned income and adjusted gross income can be as low as $15,270 for a single filer or head of household to as high as $ 54 , 884 for a married couple wit h t h ree dependent children. This year, eligible EITC consumers cou l d r eceive as much as $6,431 for fa m ilies with three or more qua l if y ing children to $519 for single filers.
and an o ther 20.5 million RACs valued at a half billion dollars were also sold, according to the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). “Ta x-time is hard enough for most Ame r ic a ns, but they also face con s um e r protection challenges,” noted Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. “Th e y n eed to avoid incompetent and ab u sive preparers and decide whe t he r to choose financial products of varying costs.” So h ow much financial sense does it m ak e to purchase an ‘advance’ or open a temporary bank account when the Internal Revenue Service can de p osit the full refund into a che c ki n g account within two to three business days? Jus t b e cause a refund-advance pro d uc t isn’t called a loan, or doe s n’ t have an interest rate, doe s n’ t mean it’s free, said Scott Astrada, the Center for Responsible Len d in g ’s Director of Federal Advocacy. “Carefully read the terms and co n ditions and ask plenty of questions”. Eve r yo n e who works for a living sho u ld be entitled not only to a pay c he c k but 100 percent of their tax refunds. Cha r le n e Crowell is the Center for Re s ponsible Lending’s Com m un i cations Deputy Director. She ca n be reached at Charlene. crowell@responsiblelending.org.
Sim i la r ly, the Child Tax Credit is a va i lable to eligible filers with chi l dr e n under the age of 17. For eac h d e pendent child meeting the age re q uirement, filers receive a $2,000 credit that like EITC reduces the amount of taxes owed. In 2017, 1.7 million RALs were sold,
Securing the Opportunities of American Energy By Elia Quintana Director of Stakeholder Relations, American Petroleum Institute
15 or 20 years ago, there were very few people who could have imagined that the U.S. would again lead the world in the production of natural gas and oil. And even fewer who would have thought that we could reduce carbon emissions faster than any other
nation. Today, we are doing both. The natural gas and oil industry supports the jobs of more than 10 million American workers, and reports project an additional 1.9 million job opportunities in America’s natural gas and oil and petrochemicals industries by 2035 – nearly 40 percent of which will
be held by African American and Hispanic workers. The natural gas and oil industry leads all other sectors – including utilities, tech and health care – in compensation for U.S. workers, because as an industry, we take pride in providing well-paying careers and opportunities for individuals and families, offering support for communities and driving local and national economies. The American energy revolution is changing life for the better. Stable, affordable energy brings economic
stability and cleaner air. It is reviving American manufacturing, and restoring jobs we used to hear were gone forever. Advanced technologies, best practices and industry standards allow the natural gas and oil industry to safely and responsibly explore and develop both onshore and offshore, and this development means that the industry can continue leading the way in bringing large economic benefits – including investments and jobs – to communities across the country, as well as affordable and reliable energy.
These benefits are tangible - like newly paved roads, upgraded school buildings and better funded land and water conservation projects. Just last month, onshore lease sales in New Mexico resulted in nearly $500 million in revenue awarded to the state from oil and natural gas production on federal lands. Offshore lease sales are just as beneficial as onshore ones and could bring the same types of much-needed benefits to many states along the Atlantic coast and See ENERGY page 15
