Tax Rebate Wrinkle Excludes Some Americans

(AP)  When Maulit Shelat heard about the Bush administration's plan to pump up the economy by sending out stimulus checks, he sat down with his wife and drew up a list of priorities: first up, remodeling the bathroom.

But Shelat is married to a foreigner who still hasn't completed the often years-long process that allows her to apply for a Social Security number. Her not having that number makes even him ineligible for the tax rebate checks that started going out last week because they filed jointly.

He is among an estimated hundreds of thousands of taxpayers - from legal immigrants to soldiers based abroad - who won't be getting a share of the stimulus package because of a provision aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from getting rebates.

"I would have fed this economy as well," said Shelat, an Indian chemical engineer living with his wife and two children in the Buffalo, N.Y, area. "We live within this economy, work, pay taxes, do everything by the book. Whatever the reasons for giving this economic stimulus package, they apply to us as well."

When lawmakers decided to send out the checks, ranging from $300 to $600 per adult taxpayer, plus another $300 for each child, they formulated it so only taxpayers who have Social Security numbers would qualify.

The rule unintentionally caught many taxpayers who would have qualified for the bonus, except they filed jointly with a spouse who's immigration status doesn't allow them to have a Social Security number. Among them are some of the 288,000 troops stationed overseas who may have married a foreigner.

"An American soldier who has married someone from another country and is waiting for an (immigration) petition to get approved - that soldier not getting that check is stupid," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., whose district includes Silicon Valley, home of many high-tech workers who fell through the rebate cracks.

It's not clear how many members of the Armed Forces posted abroad have married foreigners. But officials in overseas bases say they can't do anything about the Internal Revenue Service's policy.

"The U.S. military doesn't have any input in IRS practices and procedures," said Air Force Major Pamela Cook, with the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. "It's true that service members and anybody who is married to someone without a Social Security number is affected. But it's not in our lane to talk."

There are also an estimated 1 million legal residents - immigrants with green cards - who are waiting for their spouses' paperwork to be processed, according to Paul Donnelly of Reform the Rebate, a group trying to push Congress the change the rule. The IRS doesn't keep numbers of how many of that group are cut out of the rebate because they filed jointly.

And many of the 600,000 to 800,000 highly skilled immigrants on work visas in the U.S., like Shelat, have found themselves in the same position, having married a foreigner.

"My friends, my co-workers, everyone is getting this, but not me," said Ranjeet Kumar, a software engineer who has been working in Silicon Valley for eight years.

Kumar's wife is in the U.S. legally but her status still doesn't allow her to work or apply for a Social Security number. The couple filed taxes jointly but won't qualify for the $1,200 rebate other eligible couples would get.

"I know they want to exclude illegal immigrants - but I'm not illegal, I've done exactly what I was supposed to do," Kumar said.

Members of the Federation for American Immigration Reform lobbied against a version of the bill that didn't require a Social Security number for the rebate, worried about the prospect of illegal immigrants receiving checks. Spokesman Ira Mehlman said the exclusion of legal immigrants and Americans married to noncitizens was an unintended consequence.

"If you're serving abroad and haven't been able to file the paperwork, they should make an exception," he said. "If one spouse is a citizen, is here legally and is filing, they should probably be entitled."

Many of the couples snagged by this provision weren't aware that filing taxes using the foreign spouse's IRS-issued Taxpayer Identification Number instead of a Social Security number would cut them out. On April 14, the day before the tax deadline, the IRS clarified the situation on its Web site.

"They can file separately, though that may not necessarily be to their benefit," said Eric Smith, an IRS spokesman.

Tax advisers said even if these couples had known, frequently the financial benefits of filing jointly outweigh the maximum of $600 that the spouse with the Social Security number could get by filing separately.

But many of these couples feel they shouldn't have to choose since they've been working legally and paying taxes.

Sheila Reed, who works at Command Navy Region Europe in Naples, Italy, said she filed taxes together with her husband, who still uses the IRS Taxpayer Identification Number.

"I don't feel this is fair because I pay taxes like any other U.S. citizen," she told Stars and Stripes, a newspaper published for the U.S. military and other Department of Defense personnel. "It's not right. I have three kids."

[hlb1230]

Maybe if most american girls weren''''t so fat, maybe I could find one to date. I''''m a single white guy that is 30 with a bachelor''''s degree. I would pretty much marry any single skinny girl, but there are no single skinny girls in South Carolina! I''''m moving to Indonesia soon. I won''''t see this country have another presidential election that is set up by the rich people to allow Amnesty Juan Mccain rule! I hate Amnesty Juan Mccain! He needs to go to mexico!
Posted by TRBundro1277 at 04:13 AM : May 13, 2008
Maybe its not the girls in sc maybe it is your attitude. Maybe the women in this country wouldn''t be so fat if the men like you left. Good luck in Indoneisa, hope you find the girl of your dreams and stay there. The fat women here are better off with out you.

[jerriemc23]

so i get this letter from the irs and it told that i am to get this rebate check by may 9th, i got the letter on may 12th. it then shows me how much and when to expect it,on the other side it says my file is "under review" and won''t get it until whenever. one last big shag off america before this admin leaves. when they say rebate check, it''s exactly that...a check and won''t be getting any thing until june, thanks srub

[trbundro1277]

You can''''t find an American to marry? You HAVE to marry a foreigner? What''''s wrong with our women?
Screw you!
Posted by Keithle1 at 07:46 PM : May 12, 2008
*** Maybe if most american girls weren''t so fat, maybe I could find one to date. I''m a single white guy that is 30 with a bachelor''s degree. I would pretty much marry any single skinny girl, but there are no single skinny girls in South Carolina! I''m moving to Indonesia soon. I won''t see this country have another presidential election that is set up by the rich people to allow Amnesty Juan Mccain rule! I hate Amnesty Juan Mccain! He needs to go to mexico!

[michellem99-2009]

I am an American amd I have a ss number..Whare is the the bloody rebate.

[michellem99-2009]

If ye get the money that bush say ye get good luck..he told every one to file..Whem Gerry Ford did did this it was fair..

[hk94]

I think I only saw one comment here that pointed out how unfair it is that people who didn''t even pay taxes get the rebate too. I paid my taxes, I am US born and I get nothing. The Dems think I''m rich because I''m just above the threshold to get the rebate. I''m not rich. I work hard to get by just like everyone else.

[rlacroix4]

What was not clear in the article is not that the IRS is not paying the rebate to people with ITIN%u2019s. It is that if you are a US citizen and all your children live in the USA but one of the spouses does not have a social for any reason. The ITIN on the 2007 tax form deletes you from any rebate whatsoever.
An ITIN on the 2007 tax form cancels any rebate for the entire family. Not just for the person who does not have a true social sec number.

[rlacroix4]

I and my 2 sons are US citizens. My wife is not but is here legal without any INS problems but does not have a social, only a ITIN.
I did not get the rebate due to my Mexican wife''s ITIN.
Here is the painfull part. I do not mind the IRS not giving my wife or people with the ITIN the rebate.
But the IRS made my 2 US born children and myself unable to have the rebate. So ok if I did not get $1800 and they delete her $600 portion. But how come when everything I done is legal they deleted our US born and raised family from the entire rebate package? Don''t pay it on the ITIN''s but how come stop payment on the entire family rebate jest because someone in the family has a ITIN? That is where the unfairness comes into the system.

[ourtomorrows]

Friends of mine who who both work to support themselves and who live paycheck to paycheck and have paid taxes for 30 years, those are the people who deserve and need this money. The majority of people who have EARNED it and deserve it are getting, nothing is perfect. Stop with the bleeding heart whiney ***.

[ourtomorrows]

Do people realize what is being said? The man, who is a tax-paying American, is being denied the rebates for himself and his children just because he filed his taxes jointly with his wife who can''''t get a social security number because of her immigration status, but pays taxes as well and is working here legally. Sadly this stipulation also denies rebates for some soldiers based overseas as well. It''''s not "''''bout denying dems checks to dems illegals"

Posted by collegedudeu

Yes, but his wife is not a legal citizen yet and she has no social security number. Therefore no rebate. No number, no rebate. Simple as that. I personally don''t think those $300 checks that the Democrats slipped in should be going out to people who barely paid or paid virtually no taxes. I work 60-70 hours per week at two jobs, and sometimes three. I paid taxes on every cent I earned. I paid in more than double, triple, or quadruple than some people getting back $300, so tell me, how exactly is that fair? Look no system is perfect, the congress set up rules to keep people who are not yet American citizens from getting rebate checks. Nothing wrong with that. They did not anticipate this situation, well, thats life. If the best CBS could do was dig up a couple who won''t be able to remodel their bathroom, my heart is not exactly breaking.