News of Seven Month Tax Refund Delay – Complete Hoax
When it comes to your tax refund, you probably want to receive it as soon as possible. In the past several months, there have been news articles out there about the IRS delaying refunds for the 2014 tax year. There are several possible reasons for this potential delay. The biggest and most troublesome is that the IRS is waiting on Congress to resolve and/or extend a significant number of expired tax provisions in order for the agency to know how and which laws are applicable to 2014 returns. Of all the articles out there predicting a refund delay, there has been one that has caused more than a little bit of hand wringing. The NationalReport.net recently reported that the IRS anticipates not issuing 2014 refunds until October 15, 2015. This news is a total and complete hoax.
The National Report article includes made-up quotes from the White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest and politician Paul Read attesting to the possible significant delay. These quotes are included to make the article appear authentic, however, the NationalReport.net is a satirical news website. All the articles it publishes are fictitious. The website used to contain a disclaimer explaining that it is a satire web publication, that everything in its articles was fake news, and that any resemblance to the truth was “purely coincidental”. The notice, though, has been taken down and no longer appears on the website. Snopes.com captured and saved a screenshot of the disclaimer, and you can see it here.
It has been thought that the issue of tax extenders will not be resolved until after November elections. Republicans previously blocked legislation that would have renewed the extenders complaining that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was not letting them offer amendments before the Senate. On Tuesday, November 4, 2014, American voters gave Republicans control of the Senate. With November elections now over, hopefully the idea of an October 15, 2015 refund date will prove to be as far-fetched as it sounds.
If you have questions regarding the preparation of your 2014 tax return, or any aspect of the tax system, the professionals at Nielsen Law Group are ready to assist you. Call (480) 888-71111 or submit a web request here.