Pres. Obama Tax Cuts

by: Clem Guttata

Wed Apr 14, 2010 at 07:41:25 AM EDT

Are you getting an unexpected refund from your Federal Taxes this year?

Tax refunds are up 10% this year thanks to last year's economic stimulus package:

The average income tax refund is up nearly 10% from a year ago, reflecting tax credits included in last year's economic stimulus package, according to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman.

Vice President Biden is expected to announce the increase Monday as part of a month-long effort to promote tax benefits available through the Recovery Act of 2009.

Through March 12, the average tax refund was a record $3,036, up $266 from the same period a year earlier, Shulman said in a statement.

"The Recovery Act is a major factor behind these larger, record refunds," Shulman said. "About half of all Americans haven't filed their taxes yet, so we urge them to look carefully at these Recovery provisions." Some 69 million individual tax returns were filed through March 13, according to the IRS.

Via mcjoan, more details from Citizens for Tax Justice:

   According to a recent CBS News/New York Times poll, the vast majority of Americans do not perceive that they have received a tax cut from President Obama. Asked if the President "has already raised taxes this past year," 53 percent of those polled said that the President has "kept taxes the same," and 24 percent think that the President has "raised taxes." A mere 12 percent believe that the President has cut their taxes.

   This is an astonishing level of misunderstanding. The truth is that the major tax cuts enacted in the 2009 economic stimulus bill actually reduced federal income taxes for tax year 2009 for 98 percent of all working families and individuals. These tax cuts saved working families and individuals an average of $1,158 on the tax returns they will file by April 15. (The median tax cut was approximately $600.) [emphasis in original]

As mcjoan concluded:

An astonishing level of people believe any lie the Republican party tells them. A sizable chunk of them probably still believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Turning around the "tax and spend" stereotype for Democrats is going to take a long time to dislodge.

Facts are stubborn thing. The Obama administration and the Democrats in Congress are indeed helping working Americans (and those still looking for work) in ways that just don't happen when Republicans are in charge.