Some retirees have recently had to make choices between food or medicine, says longtime Reservoir Hill resident Georgia Winder.
Winder has lived in Baltimore for almost 50 years, and she knows more than a few people who could make good use of the government?s economic stimulus payments.
She also knows more than a few people who might not know how to go about collecting those rebates.
“A lot of older people don?t know what they have to do,” Winder said Tuesday at the Western Community Action Center. “They definitely need the money, because everything is so expensive now, especially food and medicine.”
Sen. Benjamin Cardin, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and Rep. John Sarbanes joined community leaders and members in West Baltimore on Tuesday to urge residents to file their tax returns so they can receive their stimulus rebates. If a tax form isn?t filed, the rebate will go back to the government.
Cummings said 2.5 million families in Maryland are eligible to receive rebates as high as $1,200 per family, plus $300 for every child. Individuals can receive rebates from $300 to $600.
“One of our greatest fears is that people won?t take advantage of it,” said Cummings, adding that rising gas and food prices and increasing home foreclosures have made things “very, very difficult.”
“This is your money,” Cummings said. “We simply cannot let these rebate checks go unclaimed.”
Cardin said the effort to educate the public was focused on senior citizens, disabled veterans and families who earn too little to file tax returns.
“Not enough families make use of the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Cardin said. “We?re afraid the same thing could happen with this rebate.”
Richard Byrd, deputy commissioner for the IRS?s Wage and Investment Division, told residents that if they?ve filed their taxes, they?ll get their rebate soon, with checks mailed at the beginning of May. For those who don?t normally file tax returns, they should look for forms from the Internal Revenue Service in the mail soon that need to be completed and returned. Taxes can also be filed online.
“It?s not very often that we in the IRS can say, ?We?re here to help you,? ” Byrd jokingly said.
