With growing backlog at the IRS, millions of Americans still waiting for their tax refunds
CBSN
Millions of U.S. taxpayers are still waiting for their returns to be processed, with an already massive backlog at the IRS growing even larger in the past year, according to a new report from a government watchdog agency.
The backlog of returns has swelled to 12.4 million returns still being processed as of September, an increase of 1.9 million returns from a year earlier, the Government Accountability Office found. As a result, millions of Americans have seen delays in getting their tax refunds, the agency noted.
The GAO's findings come after three brutal tax filing seasons for many taxpayers, with millions of returns caught in limbo as the pandemic posed a series of challenges for the IRS. The tax agency has subsequently hired thousands of new employees in the hope of being better prepared for the 2023 tax filing season, although the IRS recently warned taxpayers not to bank on getting their refunds by any specific date when they file their returns in early 2023.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were honored at a state dinner in Paris at the Presidential Elysee Palace on Saturday, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte Macron marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day two days prior and the strength of the countries' long alliance.
President Joe Biden said France was America's "first friend" at its founding and is one of its closest allies more than two centuries later as he was honored with a state visit Saturday by French President Emmanuel Macron aimed at showing off their partnership on global security issues and easing past trade tensions.
The Consumer Federal Protection Bureau last week launched an inquiry into what the agency is calling "junk fees in mortgage closing costs." These additional fees, involving home appraisal, title insurance and other services, have spiked in recent years and can add thousands of dollars to the final cost of buying a home.
Retired Maj. Gen. William Anders, the former Apollo 8 astronaut who took the iconic "Earthrise" photo showing the planet as a shadowed blue marble from space in 1968, was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting alone plummeted into the waters off the San Juan Islands in Washington state. He was 90.