Relief checks 2023 | Summary news 8 April
Headlines: Saturday 8 April, 2023
- US added 236,000 jobs in March, leading to a small decrease in the unemployment rate to 3.5 percent
- Payroll in theretail sector has fallen by 15,000 workers over the last year
- Millions of dollars in SNAP benefits have been stolen, what to do if this happens to you
- Weekly first-time jobless claims drop 18,000 to 228,000
- Jobs openings decreased in February, still 1.7 jobs for every unemployed worker
- Over 3 million layoffs in the US this year, which sectors have seen the highest job cuts?
- Social Security and Medicare Trustees warn of respective funds depleted by 2033 and 2031
- Experts differ in their opinion over whether mortgage rates will increase or fall vary widely
- Various states will continue to issueinflation relief checks and generous tax refunds in April
- Social Security April payment schedule: when can you expect your payment?
- No Supplemental Security Income checks will be sent in April;instead, the April payment was made on 31 March
- IRS offers a tax credit to filers with dependents in other countries
Read more from AS USA:
Tech stocks soar after layoffs demonstrate financial discipline
Big tech companies had announced in the first quarter that they would lay off a total of 220,000 people. Bad for the workforce, but good for stock value, which climbed in the first three months of the year.
The cutting of jobs showed investors that tech companies have a newfound sense of financial disciplinefollowing the surge and expansion caused by the pandemic.
Bank deposits up for the first time after bank failures
Deposits at U.S. commercial banks rose near the end of March for the first time in about a month, showing signs of stabilizing after the two largest bank failures since the financial crisis rocked the banking system and rattled depositors.
Federal Reserve data released showed deposits at all commercial banks rose to $17.35 trillion in the week ended March 29, from a downwardly revised $17.31 trillion a week earlier.
It was the first increase since the start of March and marked an end, for the moment, to a record flight of deposits triggered by the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank toward the middle of last month.
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Some states continue to send out stimulus or relief checks and tax refunds. Although inflationary pressure in the market has weakened in recent months, the delivery of support will continue in April.
Corina González tell us which states are distributing stimulus and relief checks.
Millions have filed their taxes and are waiting for their refunds. Filing as soon as possible is the best way to make sure your return is processed promptly because as time goes on, more people send their returns which can create processing delays. At the IRS, tax returns are processed on a first-come-first-served basis.
Oliver Povey writes about how to check the status of your tax refund.
After nearly a year of rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, the labor market shows signs of softening. What will be the impact on workers and their wages?
In March, almost one year after the Federal Reserve began increasing interest rates, the national unemployment rate is hovering at around 3.5 percent. Last month the economy added 236,000 jobs, which was much closer to what had been projected by economists, compared to January and February, where reality blew past the figures expected.
Food prices rising at record rates
Supermarket prices have shot up at the fastest rate in decades, putting staples like eggs and bread out of reach for some consumers.
Over the past two years, egg prices have nearly doubled, leading some people to try smuggling eggs from Mexico and becoming more creative by painting "Easter potatoes" instead of eggs, to save some money.
Meat, fish and chicken are all substantially more expensive than they were two years ago, as well as cereal and bread, which cost nearly 25% more today than they did in 2021, according to CBS News.
Americans living abroad get an automatic tax filing extension
U.S. citizens living abroad should fulfill their tax obligations. Their worldwide income-- including wages, unearned income and tips-- is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where they live or where they earn their income. They also have the same income tax filing requirements as citizens living in the United States.
Taxpayers living outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico have an extension to file, but not to pay. They have an automatic two-month extension to June 15, 2023, if both their tax home and abode are outside the United States and Puerto Rico. Even with an extension, a taxpayer will have to pay interest on any tax not paid by the regular due date of April 18, 2023.
If you want to pinch pennies when you go grocery shopping, there are certain days you may wish to avoid, and not just because of the crowds.
The pricing of groceries can vary depending on several factors, including location, store policies, and time of year. However, in general, it is observed that shoppers tend to deal with higher prices on weekends, which typically tend to be busier for grocery stores.
McDonald's tightens belt
McDonald's Corp is cutting pay packages for some employees as part of a restructuring that includes layoffs and the shutting down of some offices, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Reuters had earlier reported that the number of corporate employees the company was planning to lay off this week will tally in the "hundreds".
The fast-food chain has offered some employees a chance to remain at the company with reductions in their compensation packages, including changes to titles and benefits such as bonuses and equity grants, the WSJ report said.
Job cuts and changes at McDonald's are affecting employees in the United States and abroad, at the company's Chicago headquarters and in its field offices, and across departments including marketing and operations, the report added.
McDonald's declined to comment on the report.
(REUTERS)
The targets in the sight of the IRS
The focus will be on taxpayers earning more than $400,000 in a year, which will include wealthy individuals and large corporations.
The IRS was given a major boost with the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. The bill allocated an extra $80 billion of support to the tax agency, $45.6 billion of which is going towards this tax enforcement. Werfel was brought before a Senate committee to justify the plans and to demand that low-income Americans will not be targeted.
Who will be audited by the IRS?
We have years ahead of us where we will be 100% focused on building capacity for higher income individuals and corporations. During this time, the audit rates of average taxpayers will not increase. People who get W-2s or Social Security payments, or have a small business, should not be worried about some new wave of IRS audits. We’re taking that off the table.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) hopes to rake in an extra $100 billion in revenue over the next ten-years. It aims to do this by increasing auditing levels to ensure taxpayers are not hiding their money from the federal government. Understandably poorer Americans are worried about prying eyes into their finances, while ignoring the country’s richest.
However, the new head of the organisation has made it clear that Americans at an average salary will not be targeted, while those earning substantially more will be.
Why might people overpay their taxes?
Many people may not fully understand how the tax system works or how to calculate their tax liability correctly. As a result, they may overestimate their taxes owed and end up overpaying.
Individuals with irregular income, such as freelancers or those who work on commission, may have difficulty accurately predicting their income for the year. As a result, they may overpay their taxes to avoid having to pay a large tax bill at the end of the year.
What to do if you overpay the IRS
To claim your refund, you can file an amended tax return using Form 1040-X. The form allows you to correct any errors on your original return and claim any additional deductions, credits, or exemptions that you may have missed. You can file the amended return within three years of the original due date of your tax return or within two years of the date that you paid the tax, whichever is later.
If you have overpaid the IRS in your taxes, you can claim a refund for the excess amount that you paid. The IRS typically issues refunds within 21 days of receiving a tax return, but it can take longer depending on the circumstances.
31 million families qualified for EITC in 2022, a nearly $7,000 tax credit
The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable credit, meaning that once taxes owed are accounted for the remainder gets added onto a tax refund. The credit could be worth up to almost $7,000, but the amount varies depending on earnings and the size of the taxpayer's family.
Last year, the Internal Revenue Services reports that "as of December 2022, 31 million workers and families received about $64 billion in EITC. The average amount of EITC received nationwide was about $2,043."
In recent years, the US economy has seen two major recessions, both of which drove the unemployment rate into the double digits which hadn’t happened since 1982. However, those recessions pale in comparison to the Great Depression.
White House responds to the March Unemployment Report
This is a good jobs report for hard-working Americans. Today’s report shows that we continue to face economic challenges from a position of strength, with the economy adding 236,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate at 3.5%. My economic agenda has powered an historic economic recovery. We’ve created 12.6 million jobs since I took office. The unemployment rate is close to the lowest it has been in more than 50 years and a record low for African Americans. Thanks to the policies we have put in place, the recovery is creating good jobs that you can raise a family on, which is pulling more Americans into the labor force. In fact, the share of working age Americans in the labor force is at a 15 year high.
Last month, the US economy gained 236,000 jobs, leading the national unemployment rate to fall by 0.1 percent to 3.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The labor force participation rate, which represents the ratio of people who are of working age and have a job, rose slightly to 62.6 from 62.5 in February.Over the last year, this figure has increased by around a third of a percent.
Check out our full coverage for a look at the industries and sectors that have seen the greatest gains and losses since January and over the last year.
Month after month, the Social Security Administration (SSA) sends payments to certain beneficiaries, including retired workers. They must meet certain criteria to claim their checks, such as having a Social Security number (SSN), certain earnings, and credits.
Throughout one’s working life, a worker accumulates a record of earnings. SSA relies on the total yearly amount of a worker’s earnings to calculate the credits you need to claim payments. In 2023, the amount of earnings needed for 1 credit is $1,640.
According to the SSA web portal, a worker can accumulate a maximum of 4 credits per year. Generally, a worker must accumulate about 40 credits to receive any benefits, that is, around 10 years of work, but does time working abroad also count?
Welcome to AS USA's live blog on inflation relief and financial news
Throughout the day we'll bring you the latest news on measures to provide inflation relief, Social Security, 2023 tax season, interest rates, the housing market and more.
As the national tax filing date approaches, we will be providing you with information from the IRS on how to prevent hiccups during processing and the distribution of your refund.