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business Friday 9 OctOber 2020
IRS chief: agency reaching out on pandemic relief payments

WASHINGTON (AP) — The since 2010. An independent
head of the IRS, on the IRS watchdog has warned
defensive over millions of that the funding cuts have
Americans in danger of eroded the agency's ability
missing coronavirus relief to upgrade its technology
payments, said Wednes- and fulfill its role of collect-
day the agency is reach- ing taxes and enforcing the
ing out to low-income and law to prevent cheating.
homeless people, military Democrats charged that
personnel and veterans the limited resources have
and those with limited Eng- brought a double standard
lish to notify them they may of stricter auditing for low-
be eligible for the aid. income people while the
People who don't normally affluent can hide earnings
file tax returns are among and claim dubious deduc-
those being targeted, Inter- tions to escape their full tax
nal Revenue Service Com- obligations. "Some taxpay-
missioner Charles Rettig ers, often the most wealthy
told a hearing by a House among us, including poten-
oversight panel. tially the current president
A congressional watchdog of the United States, fail to
found that millions could properly pay their taxes,"
miss the payments of up Connolly said.
to $1,200 per individual be- Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig prepares to testify before a House Commit- He cited Trump's having
cause of incomplete gov- tee on Oversight and Reform hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, in Washington. claimed a $70,000 deduc-
ernment records. Nearly 9 Associated Press tion for hair styling expenses
million individuals who are during his TV show "The Ap-
eligible for the so-called fresh $1,200 relief checks, these payments, it contin- funding for the IRS, now prentice."
economic impact pay- among a few other items. ues its extensive outreach further strained by the pan- "Not a deduction available
ments hadn't yet received The universal payments efforts into the historically demic. Delayed income to most of us," quipped
them, the Government Ac- were mandated in late underserved communities tax refunds, hampered Connolly.
countability Office recently March as part of Congress' of our nation," he told the audit and enforcement ef- Trump's near-zero tax pay-
estimated. unprecedented $2.6 trillion hearing. forts, and a revenue drain ments have underscored
"People can't afford to just in aid to cushion the blow All adults earning up to for the Treasury are the the ability of wealthy indi-
wait. They need that as- from the staggering reces- $75,000 in adjusted gross in- results, they said. Technol- viduals with high-priced ac-
sistance now," said Demo- sion and economic shut- come annually are entitled ogy lapses in an outdated countants to outmatch the
cratic Rep. Gerald Con- downs set off by the global to $1,200 ($2,400 for mar- agency system forced the IRS. Trump declared hun-
nolly of Virginia, who heads pandemic. Since then, ried couples filing jointly) — shutdown of call centers dreds of millions in losses in
the House Oversight Com- Rettig testified, the IRS has with those amounts steadily and Taxpayer Assistance recent years, thereby al-
mittee's government oper- delivered about 170 mil- declining for those earning Centers in this year's filing lowing him to pay just $750
ations panel. lion payments totaling over more and phasing out en- season. in federal income tax the
A day after cutting off talks $270 billion, mostly by direct tirely for people earning Funding for the IRS, long a year he entered the White
with Democratic leaders in deposit but also in paper over $99,000. There are punching bag for Republi- House, and no income tax
Congress over a new COV- checks or prepaid debit payments of up to $500 for can lawmakers who have at all in 11 of the 18 years
ID-19 relief package, Presi- cards. each qualifying child. accused it of overreach- reviewed by The New
dent Donald Trump pressed "Although the IRS has sent Lawmakers on the panel ing into taxpayers' lives, has York Times in a report last
Wednesday for passage of out the vast majority of decried the diminished plummeted by about 21% week.q
JPMorgan puts $30B toward fixing banking's 'systemic racism'

By KEN SWEET units. al funds will go to finance
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — "Systemic racism is a tragic 15,000 small business loans
JPMorgan Chase said part of America's history," to Black and Latino-owned
Thursday it will extend bil- said JPMorgan Chase CEO businesses.
lions in loans to Black and Jamie Dimon in a state- There will also be programs
Latino homebuyers and ment. "We can do more to place 1 million customers
small business owners in an and do better to break in low-cost checking and
expanded effort toward fix- down systems that have savings accounts, partly by
ing what the bank calls "sys- propagated racism and opening new branches in
temic racism" in the coun- widespread economic in- minority-majority neighbor-
try's economic system. equality." hoods.
The New York bank said it is The bank, which has $3.2 Black households are sev-
committing $30 billion over trillion in assets, said it ex- eral times more likely to
the next five years toward pects the $30 billion to help be what is known as un-
programs that include ear- finance 40,000 additional banked, meaning they
marking more money for mortgages for Black and do not have a primary In this Aug. 16, 2019, file photo, the logo for JPMorgan Chase &
getting Black and Latino Latino households, another checking account with Co. appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York
families into homeowner- 20,000 loans that will refi- a traditional bank, or un- Stock Exchange in New York.
ship and providing addi- nance mortgages and help derbanked, where house- Associated Press
tional financing to build construct 100,000 afford- holds still rely on high-cost
affordable rental housing able rental units. Addition- financial services like check cashing, pawn shops and payday loans. q