Thousands of Rhode Island income-tax refunds are being delayed longer than previously reported because of state cash-flow problems.
Overall, the state has delayed payment of about 53,000 individual income-tax refunds ”” totaling about $36.3 million ”” to make sure it has enough money to pay off state borrowings that come due in June, said Paul L. Dion, chief of the state Office of Revenue Analysis.
When the issue first arose earlier this month, state officials said they were delaying payment of refunds by about three weeks after the returns were processed. As of Tuesday, however, the delay had grown to between four and six weeks, state officials acknowledged.
Normally, when a tax return is processed, it takes the state several days to issue a refund on a return that was filed electronically, a week or so for a return that was filed on paper, state Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan said.
Theft and tyranny.
Are the welfare checks still going out on time? Are all the highway lights still shining brightly in the night, despite the fact that all the cars have headlights? Did the governor and the legislature get their paychecks? Is the fleet of state vehicles still intact and are all the fuel charge cards still in use?