Refund Anticipation Loans: Tax Payers Issued Bogus Tax Refund Checks

Desiree Benton Ganked By Superfly Taxes

Welp, it's February. So you know what that means, right? Yep, screw December; this month kicks off the most wonderful time of the year. Oh and why is that you may ask? It's tax refund season and everyone is happy. Hell, did you think it was just mere coincidence that Black History Month fell in the shortest month of the year? I'm just sayin', like Christmas, there's a reason to the season.

This is the time of year you see a spike in drive-out tags in the rear windows of overpriced shitty cars, Cars that will be either repossessed in a few months time; or have their engine blocks lock up in rush hour traffic, while the freshly rented rims keep spinning as the system loudly pumps the latest garbage that passes for music. But be that as it may, it's still the one time of year one can achieve their hood dreams of vast wealth.

It's also the time of year that families are reunited. It's the time of year that wayward estranged "baby-daddies" decide to reconcile with the mothers of their children. It's the time of year when he decides a Happy Meal or two isn't a bad investment (unlike child support) as he seeks to gain that fresh pair of Jordan, or the aforementioned shitty overpriced car with rims taller than midgets, all sponsored by Earned Income Credit.

Thanks to the government, some will be even happier this year:

WASHINGTON -- Friday is the Treasury Department's Earned Income Tax Credit Appreciation Day, a celebration of what is arguably the U.S. government's largest antipoverty program. And consumer advocates say there is some reason to celebrate: Increased federal oversight, they say, should limit the share of those tax rebates that low-income taxpayers hand over to financial professionals.

[...] Low-income taxpayers frequently use tax-preparation services like Jackson Hewitt or H&R Block to help them file their taxes. On top of fees for that service, such companies frequently sell them loans known as Refund Anticipation Loans or set up Refund Anticipation Checks -- temporary bank accounts that allow taxpayers who do not have bank accounts to receive their tax refunds.

In exchange for receiving their refund check immediately, however, the consumer leaves a piece of their total refund in the bank's account, much like a payday loan. A week or two later, when the full refund arrives, the bank deposits it and pockets the difference.