“This is mainly a problem associated with people who are not taxpayers, so they are not reporting income taxes in most cases because they do not earn enough to need to file federal income taxes,” said National Economic Council director Brian Deese at a White House press conference.
The planned online portal is a consequence of the existing IRS non-archiving site, created last year to help ensure that names and contact information are registered for payments. Initial payments were distributed based on the past two years of tax returns, but not all eligible recipients were in these databases, as not everyone needs to file tax returns.
Still waiting: The Treasury and the IRS led two rounds of direct payments to individuals and families last year, the first following the coronavirus aid legislation in March, the CARES Act, and again after the accompanying legislation was enacted in December.
A variety of obstacles, however, have prevented millions of eligible beneficiaries from receiving the money they owed quickly, and many are still waiting.
“Up to 8 million families may be eligible, but have not yet received payments under the CARES Act signed in March; many of these families could be legally entitled to as much as $ 1,200 per adult, ”according to a department fact sheet that describes the plan.
The goal is to distribute money quickly to help qualified recipients who, for various reasons, have not accessed their payments.
Other channels: In addition to the web tool, the Treasury and the IRS will also reissue last year’s unclaimed economic relief payments.
Hundreds of thousands of checks and debit cards authorized by the CARES Act have never been exchanged or activated. Some were accidentally thrown away. Debit cards, for example, were sent in discreet envelopes that many people thought were junk mail or fraudulent offers, so they threw them in the trash.
In addition to reissuing them, while disabling previously issued debit cards when new payments are made to help prevent fraud, the Treasury and the IRS will also take disclosure measures to encourage those who have not claimed their benefits to do so. you in your 2020 tax returns due this year.
More education and awareness is needed in some cases, said Deese, noting plans to continue partnering with non-governmental groups to reach those who are lacking. The IRS also worked through similar partnerships last year.
The underlying reach will also try to connect with people who do not have access to the Internet or limited access, as well as those who do not speak English.
The Treasury and the IRS also plan to better target unattended families, taking advantage of information such as addresses and zip codes of beneficiaries from other government assistance programs to identify some who have missed payments.
Separate action: In addition to directing relief from Covid-19 through an executive order, Biden is taking other measures, including quickly terminating an executive order that affects the Treasury and IRS personnel involved in tax regulations.
Lawmakers praised Biden’s decision to eliminate the new classification of workers in Program F for all federal employees who work with regulations across the government, which would have deprived them of many labor protections. Former President Donald Trump issued the directive in October, telling agencies to start recharacterizing Program F on January 19.
Critics said it would have effectively made federal regulatory officials the equivalent of political appointees – a negative factor in tax collection.
“The Forms and Means Committee previously asked for this to be done, as it will preserve the non-partisan nature of the tax administration and limit the politicization of the federal government’s civil service,” said President Richard Neal (D-Mass.) In a statement.