Where's the Refund?
First-time home buyers who bought as
long ago as last winter are still waiting
for their $8,000 tax refund.
As of mid-September, more than 1.4
million taxpayers had requested the
credit by amending their federal tax
returns. The IRS announced in October
that it expects 5.1 million claims by
year-end. That count doesn’t reflect the extension and expansion of the credit
in November.
IRS spokeswoman Carrie Resch says the agency is experiencing a higher-than
normal number of amended returns and because amended returns are reviewed
by hand, the process is delayed.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has
been fielding constituent calls for weeks
from irate home buyers. She sent a letter
to the IRS that said in part: "The full and immediate economic impact of the tax
credit is lost when it takes up to four
months for people to get the money due
to them ... such lengthy delays are unacceptable and erode the public's
trust in the competence of the
government.”
Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star
Tribune,
Kara McGuire (12/10/2009)
NAR and Lowe's Donate Relief
Aid to Haiti
The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
and Lowe’s, a partner in NAR’s REALTOR
Benefits® Program, are coming together to contribute relief to
Haiti and the victims of the country’s recent
earthquake. Together NAR and Lowe’s are leading
the charge as Realtors® spread the awareness of
good neighbors to those in desperate need.
NAR and Lowe’s will each contribute $100,000
to the REALTORS® Relief Foundation (RRF) which will distribute the money to
charities aiding Haitian
victims. RRF directors have already approved a
donation of $50,000 of that money to The Harvest
of Haiti, founded by a 2007 winner of
REALTOR®
Magazine’s Good Neighbor Awards,
Patrick Moore. Moore’s humanitarian
outreach program supports
orphans, delivers clean water, and provides medical
care in Haiti, treating close to 3,500 people a year.
Lowe’s is a sponsor of the Good Neighbor Awards.
Moore, a sales associate with JoAnn Wine &
Associates in Fort Gratiot, Mich., is planning his 64th trip to Haiti on January
29. While in Haiti, Moore and
his team will deliver six months' worth of food to an orphanage in Anse Rouge as
well help residents in communities in and around Port-au-Prince.
“Patrick and The Harvest of Haiti represent
the spirit
of volunteerism,” says Mark Malone, vice president
of Consumer Marketing at Lowe’s. “Lowe’s is proud
of our association with the Good Neighbor Awards
and we hope this support for REALTORS® providing relief in Haiti can help make a
difference.”
Source: NAR
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