Deadbeat States: It really is “not your money”

We already know about California trying to pay refunds and payments with IOUs. It has even withheld extra cash to cover their mismanagement. Now the list of deadbeat states is growing.

Try doing this with your local banker, or loan shark. From CNBC: Hat tip the Sound Off Brother!

This year, more Americans and businesses may be asking: Where’s my tax refund?

That’s because cash-strapped states such as North Carolina, Alabama and Hawaii have been forced to slow down issuing income tax refunds to individuals and businesses because of a lack of funds in their budget.

Another state, New York, is still considering whether they’ll follow the likes of Hawaii and delay refund payments.

“States typically do this when they are tight and they don’t have a budget in place,” said Karla Dennis, CEO of Cohesive, a nationwide tax preparation firm. Things are dire at many states: forty-one states are expected to have mid-year budget gaps totaling $37.7 billion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Delaying the refund, Dennis says, “gives the state funds to work with in the interim to fill a gap in their revenues.”

So let me get this straight. They over withhold on your money (OK, that’s our fault), spend it recklessly, and then, without asking, just keep it with the promise to pay sometime in the future. Sounds like a deadbeat brother in law or maybe a spoiled teenager.

Just to refresh your memory:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZyAd_rJAx4