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JANUARY 13, 2011, 10:30 A.M. ET
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Treasury Department plans to launch a pilot program Thursday to deliver tax refunds through prepaid debit cards, an effort to cut the expense of paper checks and aid lower-income taxpayers who don't have bank accounts.
About 600,000 low- and moderate-income taxpayers nationwide, a slice of those earning about $35,000 or less annually, will receive letters inviting them to activate a debit card that can receive direct deposits.
The program will cost the government about $1.5 million and marks the latest federal effort to send fewer payments by mail. The U.S. still issues an estimated 45 million paper checks a year for tax refunds. Each one costs the government about $1, including the cost of processing roughly 600,000 claims a year for missing checks. Each payment by direct deposit costs the U.S. about 10 cents.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703889204576078270017010048.html
I'd take it! Checks are a pain in the butt.
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Half the 600,000 offers from Treasury will carry a $4.95 monthly fee, while the rest will be free.
I'll be interested to see what fees are charged for and what they aren't.
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Of course that also makes it easier for the government to dive in and take any money you owe them in future years if you owed them rather than got a refund. Simpler than having to arrest your wages for example. Am I too cynical? :)
No, it's a good point. Do we really want the government to be our personal bank? I don't know about this...on the surface it sounds good but if you used it for more than just your tax refund, you're giving them a heck of a lot of control over your finances if they chose to flex their muscles.
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All I do with the check is mail it to my bank. Having to walk to the end of my driveway's not much work.
Of course that also makes it easier for the government to dive in and take any money you owe them in future years if you owed them rather than got a refund. Simpler than having to arrest your wages for example. Am I too cynical? :)
The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments. - Mad Magazine.