Tax Refunds Are Up

According to the IRS, tax refunds have jumped about 10% from last year thanks in large part to President Obama's stimulus package.

Through March 12, the average tax refund was a record $3,036, up $266 from the same period a year earlier, Shulman said in a statement.

"The Recovery Act is a major factor behind these larger, record refunds," Shulman said. "About half of all Americans haven't filed their taxes yet, so we urge them to look carefully at these Recovery provisions." Some 69 million individual tax returns were filed through March 13, according to the IRS.

The Recovery Act provided a tax credit of $400 for workers, or $800 for married couples. Most workers who have taxes withheld from their paychecks received the credit through an adjustment in their withholding. But those who didn't receive the full credit through withholding will receive the balance in their refunds.

Since $266 isn't a large amount of money, many people don't notice the difference. This also leads people to forget President Obama cut taxes for 95% of Americans. The $787 billion stimulus package contained $288 billion in tax cuts. That's where the extra $266 is coming from.

I don't think any of us would argue that George Bush also cut taxes. When he did, people who qualified received rebate checks in the mail. Whereas Obama's tax cuts simply added about $20 to your paycheck. Mailing people an actual check from the Treasury is a great way to visually remind people that you have cut taxes. Lowering payroll taxes is another way, just much less noticeable and easily forgotten.