Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: Is the IRS running behind in mailing out the federal tax rebates? I received a notice that, based on my Social Security number, I would be receiving a check the week of July 31. It's Aug. 13, and I still haven't received my check and am worried that someone might have taken it from my mailbox. What takes so long
with tax rebates?Answer: There haven't been delays in sending out the "advance payment checks," according to IRS spokeswoman Shawn George.
It turned out that you finally received your check yesterday -- one of 147,575 checks totaling $60.6 million that were mailed to Hawaii taxpayers in the first four weeks of the scheduled mailings.
But there are two circumstances that could explain a delay in receiving a check, George said.
If someone owed federal taxes or non-tax federal debts, such as delinquent child support or delinquent student loans, the advance payment amount would be applied to the debt and the check amount would be reduced, possibly down to zero, she said.
In this case, the taxpayer would be sent a letter of explanation, but the letter may not be received at exactly the same time the check was scheduled to arrive.
The second circumstance involves what George said was a small fraction of notices -- fewer than one-half of one percent -- that were mailed in mid-July with erroneous information.
Those notices "had a payment amount that was greater than it should have been, or there should have been no payment at all," she said. "Because of a programming error, the amount of the advance payment in the letter had not been limited to the taxpayer's tax liability on the 2000 tax return, as it should have been."
Corrections were made and the letters were mailed last Friday to everyone who had received a notice with the erroneous amounts.
Other readers whose checks have not come when the IRS said they would and who are not in either of the described situations can call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
Q: Exiting the Wilson Tunnel on the Kaneohe side, there are caution construction signs posted on both sides of the road. The construction work was completed, but I notice the signs are still posted. Also the striping on both sides of the road still have the solid line indicating no passing. It seems the contractor forgot to take the signs down. Can you check on this?
A: Re-striping -- part of the contract for roadwork -- remains to be done, according to the state Department of Transportation The work is expected to be completed by the end of this week. Once that happens, the signs will be removed, a spokeswoman said.
Q: To whom do I report the following hazard that I observed on a recent morning? As I entered the H-1 freeway from the Aiea onramp near Buzz's heading west, a piece of lumber about a foot long fell from the back of a pickup truck ahead of me. I had to take evasive action. As I pulled up closer to the truck, I saw that the tailgate was down and the truck was fully loaded with what looked like scrap lumber. On the tailgate itself was a number of pieces of lumber ready to fall off. What particularly caught my attention was a piece of lumber with protruding nails about ready to fall off.
A: We passed the license number you provided to the Honolulu Police Department, but in the future, you should call police at 911 immediately to report the incident.
State law requires drivers to pick up any debris they leave on the roadway. If they can't, the driver "shall report, without unnecessary delay," the situation to police.
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com