Backlog of income tax returns is growing, delaying refunds to millions
CBSN
The IRS is falling behind in processing millions of income tax returns, potentially delaying refunds for many Americans.
According to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent arm of the IRS focused on tax filers' rights, the agency is holding almost 31 million returns for manual processing just ahead of the May 17 tax filing deadline. That backlog has grown by 2 million returns since mid-April, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins told CBS MoneyWatch. "I was hoping it would go down, but I'm not that optimistic," she said of the logjam. "Taxpayers will continue to experience unusually long delays. I don't think anyone wants to hear that, but that is the case."The U.S. government, in what an attorney says is a "monumental admission," said last year that it caused injury to thousands of people on the Hawaiian island of Oahu when jet fuel from its storage facility leaked into the drinking water system. On Monday, thousands of military family members and locals are headed to trial seeking financial compensation.
An Arizona grand jury indicted 18 people Wednesday in the ongoing investigation into an alleged attempt to use alternate electors after the 2020 presidential election as part of a wider alleged conspiracy to falsely declare then-President Donald Trump the winner, the state's attorney general announced.