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business Monday 24 January 2022
Taxpayers face overloaded IRS as filing season opens Monday

By FATIMA HUSSEIN ic. It is unclear whether this
WASHINGTON (AP) — year the agency will offer
Count 30-year-old Ethan similar leeway to taxpayers.
Miller among that subset of There will be plenty of new
Americans who are actu- issues to navigate this year.
ally eager to file their taxes For example, individuals
once income tax filing sea- who are eligible to claim
son opens on Monday. the child tax credit and
The financial planner who have gotten advance pay-
lives in Silver Spring, Mary- ments throughout the year
land, is looking forward to may get a smaller refund
claiming the new deduc- than they normally would
tions that will come from see.
buying a home. He also People who did not get
wants to get a jump on a stimulus checks that they
tax season that promises were qualified for as part of
to bring lots of extra head- the pandemic relief pack-
aches and delays for filers age might yet be able to
this year. claim a " recovery rebate
"I'm trying to get a head credit " on their taxes.
start on my taxes as much On Thursday, the IRS re-
as possible," Miller said, leased a list of " Top 5
adding that he is not too Ethan Miller works on his taxes at home in Silver Spring, Md., Friday, Jan., 21, 2022 Things to Remember," with
nervous about forecasts of Associated Press suggestions for taxpayers
extra delays because he on what documents to pull
will file online and will not acknowledged Friday. tax system deserves and expects "weeks and weeks" together and what to do if
be waiting for too big a re- "The agency has not been needs," as IRS Commission- of IRS delays in 2022. their 2020 returns still have
fund. equipped with the resourc- er Chuck Rettig put it earlier "You can blame Congress not been processed.
Plenty of other filers, es to adequately serve tax- in the month. or the IRS. I imagine they're The IRS anticipates that
though, may be in for more payers in normal times, let Delays in processing are to trying to do the right thing most taxpayers will receive
heartburn. alone during a pandemic." be expected -- especially but it just adds to further their refund within 21 days
An IRS worker shortage, She stressed that the prob- because the IRS says it still complexity," he said. "My of when they file electroni-
an enormous workload lems predate the Biden is working through 2020 tax advice in 2022 is file early, cally, barring any issues
from administering pan- administration and she returns. get started tomorrow and with processing their return.
demic-related programs urged understanding for During the 2020 budget try to put your taxes togeth- But plenty of pitfalls remain,
and stalled legislation that beleaguered workers al- year, the IRS processed er with a qualified profes- in part due to staffing trou-
would have given the ready saddled with huge more than 240 million tax sional." bles at the IRS.
agency billions of dollars backlogs. "It's going to take returns and issued roughly Williamson said he advises Tony Reardon, president of
for more expeditiously pro- some work, it's going to $736 billion in refunds, in- his clients to file electroni- the National Treasury Em-
cessing returns will com- take some time and I think cluding $268 billion in stimu- cally, and those who ex- ployees Union that repre-
bine to cause taxpayers people need to under- lus payments, according to pect hefty refunds in the sents IRS workers, said the
pain this filing season. stand that they need fund- the latest IRS data. In that tens of thousands should agency "has a hard time
"The IRS right now has un- ing," Psaki said. same time frame, 59.5 mil- expect greater delays. recruiting because they're
acceptable backlogs and Agency officials are al- lion people called or visited Most backlogged returns up against Burger King or
the customer service that ready warning filers that "in an IRS office. were filed on paper and McDonald's," which of-
people are receiving is not many areas, we are unable Donald Williamson, an ac- are amended returns. fer similar pay without re-
what the American pub- to deliver the amount of counting and taxation pro- Deadlines to file have been quiring workers to "deal
lic deserves," White House service and enforcement fessor at American Univer- extended in the past two with confusing rules and
press secretary Jen Psaki that our taxpayers and sity in Washington, said he years due to the pandem- regulations."q

Mars gives M&M's a makeover to promote inclusivity

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN the M&M characters in- Mars, whose brands also
and ANNE D'INNOCENZIO clude making two of them include Twix and Snickers,
AP Business Writers less stereotypically femi- said that it will also put add-
Candy maker Mars is giving nine. In the new version, ed emphasis on the am-
a makeover to its six M&M's the green M&M ditches the persand in the M&M's logo
characters as a way to pro- high-heeled boots in favor to demonstrate how the
mote inclusivity. of sneakers and the brown brand aims to bring people
The company said that it candy no longer wears sti- together.
will provide a modern take lettos, opting instead for The move toward inclusiv-
on the appearances of the lower heels. ity and embracing indi-
characters — which Mars "Our ambition is to up- vidual differences comes
calls "lentils" — and give end the expected, break at a time when consumers
them more nuanced per- through barriers, and dis- are growing increasingly
sonalities. The lentils, which cover the little joys shared aware of how products are
are featured in red, green, in everyday life. Imagine a marketed to them. Mars is
orange, yellow, brown and world with less judgment & aware of this, having had M&M's candy is seen in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
blue, will also come in dif- more connection & consis- to change the name of Candy maker Mars is giving a makeover to its six M&M's char-
ferent shapes and sizes. tent laughter," the compa- its Uncle Ben's rice brand acters as a way to promote inclusivity.
Some of the changes to ny said on its website. in 2020 due to criticism.q Associated Press