“The check’s in the mail,” Internal Revenue Service says

Historic City News subscribers should be on the lookout as US Government relief payments began arriving in Americans’ bank accounts this week.  Depending on how your Federal Income Tax refund was paid in 2018 or 2019, you may be receiving your relief payment by paper check, so watch your mailbox.

The world’s biggest economy is in the process of issuing one-time payments to tens of millions of people as part of its $2.2 trillion novel coronavirus relief package.  Generally, adults are receiving up to $1,200 each and $500 per child.

In St Augustine and St Johns County, as around the world, the economic damage from the effort to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 infections has mounted alarmingly.  Lockdowns and other restrictions on businesses and residents have left both unable to pay rent or cover other bills.  For a local economy driven by tourism, businesses won’t necessarily bounce right back when the crisis eases.

The Internal Revenue Service has established an Internet-based search tool for taxpayers who need to look up the disposition of their relief payment.  Checks and direct deposits will continue as tax returns are filed and citizens file claims for missing payments.

As of last week, some 17 million people in the United States have been thrown onto the unemployment rolls because of the novel coronavirus crisis.  American industrial output has registered its biggest decline since the US de-mobilized in 1946 at the end of World War II.  March retail sales fell by an unprecedented 8.7%, with April expected to be far worse.

The IRS urges taxpayers to be watchful for scam artists trying to use the economic impact payments as cover for schemes to steal personal information and money. Remember, the IRS will not call, text you, email you or contact you on social media asking for personal or bank account information – even related to the economic impact payments. Also, watch out for emails with attachments or links claiming to have special information about economic impact payments or refunds.