Some tax rebates run into obstacles

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2008 | by Sandra Block

To help boost the economy, the Bush administration has tried to put tax rebates in consumers' hands as fast as possible. Yet, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who thought they would have their checks by now are still waiting for their money.

To date, the IRS has issued nearly 30 million stimulus checks, totaling more than $27 billion. The rebates range from $300 to $600 a person, or $1,200 for a married couple. Parents with dependent children are eligible for an additional $300 per child.

This is the first time the IRS has used direct deposit to deliver rebates -- a step intended to quickly pump money into the struggling economy. But several problems have delayed the process:

*Taxpayers who applied for refund-anticipation loans or who had their...