Cost of mass tax rebate mailing not yet known

The Treasury Department is gearing up to mail most American taxpayers rebate checks, but there is no estimate yet of how much the mass mailing will cost, an IRS spokesman said Thursday. The tax rebates are part of the $1.35 trillion, 10-year tax cut that Congress approved last week. According to the provision, married couples will get refund checks of up to $600, single parents as much as $500, and single taxpayers a maximum of $300, depending on tax liability. President Bush plans to sign the bill next week. The postage and printing costs associated with sending millions of taxpayer rebates are not yet known, said IRS spokesman Don Roberts. "Obviously, there will be costs associated in sending out letters and checks, but those numbers are not firm yet," he said. During a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the IRS' fiscal 2002 budget last month, IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti said the tax rebate, if enacted, could result in sizable processing costs for the agency over the short term, including the postage and printing costs for a mass mailing. Roberts said the IRS is working with Congress on funding for the project, and that the agency is confident any funding questions will be resolved "to ensure the timely implementation of the law." Roberts said the IRS will send taxpayers letters in July listing their rebate amount and the date they can expect their checks. The Treasury Department's Financial Management Service will begin sending checks in late July to taxpayers who filed 2000 tax returns, beginning with people whose Social Security numbers end in 00 and continuing up to 99. The Financial Management Service plans to complete the mailing by early October. Roberts said people who filed their tax returns late may not get their rebate checks until the end of the year. The bulk of the work in matching up names with rebate amounts and printing and mailing checks will be performed by computers, enabling Treasury to get rebates to people within the deadline, according to Roberts. Reported staffing shortages at the IRS will not affect the rebate process, Roberts said. "There is no staffing issue as far as getting these payment checks out, since a lot of the work is automated," he said. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has said he plans to push the IRS to get all rebates in the mail by September.