— One commenter on a video of a humanoid named Edward chasing a herd of wild boars through the streets of Warsaw. Mad Libs or real? You be the judge.
Uncle Sam’s Pockets
A-Tisket, A-Taxet
What’s going on: If you listen closely, you can hear a collective sigh of relief from Americans (or their accountants) who just survived tax season. Whether you spent months on your return — or frantically shuffled papers for that one last annoying document days ago — no judgment. (And if you didn’t hit the deadline, here’s how to file an extension.) So, how golden is your payoff? Many Americans are seeing larger refunds this year, according to The Washington Post. The average refund is about $3,462, up 11% from last year, according to IRS data through April 3. Sounds solid, until you learn that’s only a $300 jump, according to Axios, and much lower than the $600 to $700 many expected.
That’s not nothing: But it’s not exactly “book the flight” money either. And for a lot of people, their refund is already spoken for. One survey found 70% of families plan to use it on rent and other basics — which, honestly, tracks in this economy. Even people who weren’t counting on a bigger refund thought they might at least owe less, which isn’t happening for everyone. Why? It’s by design. The tax break focused on lowering what people owed throughout the year, rather than delivering a large payoff after filing,according to The New York Times. That makes the tax break a tougher sell — even as President Donald Trump and Republicans frame it as a win ahead of the midterms. And it may not land: Some studies show taxpayers credit the extra cash to whoever helped them file, not the lawmakers. Thanks, Sanford (yes, that’s his real name).
