Fast Facts for June 4, 2021
2.8 million of you got your unemployment tax refund this week!
That news just came down from the IRS.
The next batch will go out in mid-June.
The IRS says it has –so far– identified 13 million taxpayers who qualify for the benefit. If you remember, I’ve told you in several videos — under the American Rescue Plan, Congress made the first $10,200 of your 2020 unemployment benefit –tax free if you had an adjusted gross income of less than $150,000.
Keep in mind the refund is *not* $10,200. If you qualify, your refund will be the *tax* you paid on the first $10,200 dollars of your 2020 unemployment benefit. If you made more in unemployment, you will still owe taxes on that.
For this batch – the IRS looked at 3.1 million of the simplest tax returns, recalculated them based on the law, and found that 2.8 million people were owed for a refund.
If your return is adjusted, the IRS will send you a letter within 30 days informing you of what changed.
The IRS will continue to re-evaluate and correct tax returns in phases going from simple returns to more complicated returns all summer long. Some taxpayers will receive a refund, some will have the overpayment applied to taxes due or other debts, and for some, there will be no change.
Because of this unemployment tax benefit recalculation, you may now be qualified for the earned income tax credit. If that’s you and you have qualified dependents, you may have to file an amendment to your tax return to claim the benefit. If you’re single and fall into this category, the IRS will adjust it for you. Definitely check with your tax preparer.
More info from the IRS here.
PLUS
You won’t be seeing former President Trump on Facebook or Instagram until at least January of 2023. Facebook just handed down a two-year suspension from trump’s initial ban date after the attack on the Capital on January sixth.
Facebook says “given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump’s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols.”
After January 7, 2023, Facebook says it will look to experts to re-evaluate some external factors – like– instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest. If Facebook determines that there is still a serious risk to public safety, it will extend trump’s restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has diminished.
And this doesn’t just apply to the former president – Facebook also announced it will no longer automatically give politicians a pass when it comes to the company’s hate speech policy. This is a huge reversal of the company’s deferential treatment it gave politicians in the past.
Previously — the company applied two tests to all political posts – newsworthiness and propensity to cause harm. Well, under today’s announcement – Facebook will not give as much weight to the newsworthiness part and instead — mostly evaluate posts based on propensity to cause harm. Which is how the rest of us are treated.
It’s important to understand– the newsworthiness standard isn’t going away completely, Facebook says in the cases where the posts are too newsworthy to ignore and they allow it to be published, Facebook will disclose that an exception was made and be more transparent about the company’s strikes system for those who violate the rules. In fact – that strikes policy is already posted.
The announcement directly goes back to Facebook’s semi-independent oversight board. Remember when I told you last month in this video — that they decided to temporarily uphold the ban on former president trump’s Facebook account after the attack on the capital on January 6th? Under the board’s decision last month, it required Facebook to not only review the trump ban in six months but also come up with clearer policies about its hate speech policy within 30 days. Well, that’s what this is.
Facebook announcement about former President Trump ban here.
STRIKES POLICY here.
