Month: October 2015

Governor Larry Hogan and Comptroller Peter Franchot urged eligible Maryland residents who filed and paid income taxes to another state between 2011 and 2014 to apply for a tax refund against the county portion of their Maryland state income taxes.

Refunds are now taking place following a recent Supreme Court ruling related to local income taxes.

“For years I have said that Maryland citizens were being overtaxed and overcharged, and now an estimated 55,000 taxpayers are eligible for substantial income tax refunds,” Governor Hogan said. “The Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year allows us to provide another $200 million in tax relief, which will immediately go back into the pockets of Maryland taxpayers, and back into our state economy.”

“For the thousands of Maryland taxpayers impacted by the Wynne decision, the Comptroller’s Office is working diligently to get your money back to you, where it belongs,” Comptroller Franchot said. “We have dedicated an enormous amount of resources, technology, and staff to getting refunds out the door as quickly as possible. To date, my office has processed more than 4,000 claims, returning more than $53 million to Marylanders.”

Maryland taxpayers should visit www.WynneTaxRefund.Maryland.gov to get more information on whether they are eligible for a refund. Individual circumstances vary and taxpayers are encouraged to seek advice from a tax professional regarding how this decision affects them. In general, Maryland residents who have paid taxes on income earned in certain jurisdictions of another U.S. state may be eligible for a tax refund. However, these refunds are not automatic, and taxpayers who believe they may be entitled to a refund are encouraged to file as soon as possible.

Earlier this year, Maryland residents Brian and Karen Wynne won their case in the U.S. Supreme Court after challenging that payment of local income in both Maryland and other local jurisdictions was illegal double taxation. The Wynnes won their case when a majority of justices ruled that Maryland’s income tax law was unconstitutional.

When Donald Trump first spoke about his intentions to run for president and called out Mexicans and Hispanics in general, here’s what happened. Yes, there were protests in the streets by Latinos who felt they had been insulted by Trump, but further action was taken, not by Latinos but by corporations.

According to an article by Sarah Berger, with the International Business Times, “[Macy’s] said they would no longer carry Trump’s menswear collection, which featured shirts, ties and watches.” Further, “Macy’s is not alone: NBCUniversal, Univision, mattress maker Serta and other companies have also cut ties with Trump…The broken deals point to the growing influence of Hispanic consumers in the United States. As the Latino demographic in the United States rapidly increases, so does their buying power, and businesses are starting to realize that value.”

Economics raises its head again, doesn’t it? Macy’s was not boycotted or targeted by Latinos in any way. Why did they feel obliged to cut ties with Trump when he dissed Hispanics? A better question is: “Why haven’t we seen companies take any corresponding action on behalf of black people? Remember the Indianapolis incident earlier this year, when corporations threatened to move their companies out of that city if the law that “discriminated” against gay people was not changed? It took about 24 hours for it to be changed.

John Crawford was killed in a Walmart for holding a BB gun, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed in two seconds for holding a toy gun, Eric Garner was choked to death on national and TV after saying “Why do you keep bothering me?” and Sandra Bland was arrested and died three days later because she failed to signal a lane change and was smoking in her own car. Did any corporations make threats against anyone on their behalf?

Macy’s and the others punished Trump without being asked to do so, because they respect the $1.5 billion buying power of Hispanics. That’s it, plain and simple. “But annual black buying power is $1.2 trillion, Jim; why are we ignored?”

Major corporations with whom we spend much of that $1.2 trillion each year have, a “depraved indifference” to our plight, as Bob Law says. They do not respond to our issues in the same way because there is no price to pay for not doing so. We get slapped upside the head by politicians and our big bad NAACP tells us to take a 1,000-mile walk. One of our children gets shot down or beat down and NAN says “Let’s ‘maach’ on Washington.”

A young black man is killed in a Walmart and our “leaders” rally in front of that store—for a day. Our unemployment is at an all-time high, despite the “great economy” they say we are in, and the National Urban League writes a report each year telling us how bad things are for black America. Our voting rights are being discarded, our HBCU’s are losing millions because of Parent-Plus Loan changes, we are ignored and taken for granted by both political parties, and black politicians like John Lewis tell us to vote our way out of our problems.

It’s no wonder we don’t get the same respect and support as other groups. The ways we respond to negative issues allow the mistreatment we get from others. Take the “Black Lives Matter” mantra. Of course our lives matter and it makes no difference if others have a problem with our saying it. But we have some black folks who are trying to gain acceptance from others and trying to make others feel comfortable with us by adding to the phrase, “All lives matter,” which is obvious to most people anyway. Saying and acting upon the fact that black lives matter “less” than all other lives is important, but we must act appropriately upon what we say.

Carlos Santiago, president and chief strategist of Santiago Solutions Group said, “Latino customers represent an opportunity for Macy’s to grow its business model…Macy’s Hispanic base of buyers is significant and growing while the ‘non-Hispanic’ is declining slowly. They [Macy’s] have to protect their growing loyal base just as their competitors like Nordstrom, JC Penney’s, Target and Walmart are. In this race to capture the new growth, a change in public image is worth millions of dollars in goodwill and loyalty.”

The appropriate response to those who transgress against us must be grounded in economics. We spend money at Macy’s, as well as many other corporations. Why have they not spoken and acted on our behalf? As I have written many times, until we are serious about gaining the support of those with whom we do business, they will ignore our plight and take our dollars for granted.

Our economic response must be “Black Dollars Matter!” And we must teach our dollars how to make more sense.

Jim Clingman, founder of the Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce, is the nation’s most prolific writer on economic empowerment for black people. He can be reached through his website: blackonomics.com.

(NNPA) — At one time or another, many consumers have fallen behind on paying their bills. For the working poor, unemployed and underemployed, the struggle to get out of debt can be a daily challenge. At the same time, there are businesses that exploit others’ financial woes, reaping high profits on debt purchased for just a few cents on the dollar. In some scenarios, debt buyers become nagging collectors who hound consumers at all hours of the day and night.

The irony is that the harassment is not always warranted or even accurate. Debt buyers have a documented history of suing the wrong person for the wrong amount. In the worst scenarios, some consumers first learn of alleged debts after a court judgment has been entered against them.

These are only a few of the concerns that recently led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to take enforcement actions against the nation’s two top debt collectors. CFPB’s actions also suggest that financial abuses may be inherent in debt buyers’ business models. Together, the San Diego-based Encore Capital Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries comprise the nation’s largest debt buyer and collector. The Norfolk-based Portfolio Recovery Associates, the second largest debt operation, will halt collections totaling $128 million. The firms will also pay another $61 million in consumer refunds and an additional $18 million in penalties.

“Encore and Portfolio Recovery Associates threatened and deceived consumers to collect on debts they should have known were inaccurate or had other problems,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Now, the two biggest debt buyers in the market must refund millions and overhaul their practices. We will continue to take action to protect consumers from illegal and obnoxious debt collection practices.”

The litany of CFPB’s charged offenses read like a primer of what not to do in consumer lending. Here are just a few of the illegal and deceptive actions the firms were charged with:

• Illegally attempting to collect debt they knew, or should have known, may have been inaccurate or unenforceable;

• Collecting debts through lawsuits and threats of legal action in unlawful ways;

• Falsely telling consumers the burden of proof was on them to disprove the debt;

• Suing or threatening to sue consumers past the statute of limitations; and

• Disregarding or failing to adequately investigate consumers’ disputes.

“The Portfolio Recovery Associates and Encore Capital Group consent orders underscore the questionable tactics used by even the largest debt buyers attempting to collect old debts – deception, intimidation, and the mass-production of lawsuits against the wrong people for the wrong amount of money,” said Lisa Stifler, a policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). “Consumers deserve to be protected from wrongful collection and legal action.”

Further, abusive debt collection is annually among the top complaints to the Federal Trade Commission and the CFPB. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, CRL is working with lawmakers and regulators at both the state and federal levels to ensure that consumers are effectively protected from unscrupulous and predatory businesses.

Beyond CFPB’s enforcement actions, state attorneys general in Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas and West Virginia have all taken state actions against debt buyers and their collection practices. In New York alone, more than 7,500 court judgments valued at more than $34 million have been vacated between 2014 and 2015.

Commenting on the New York actions, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said, “My office will continue to hold debt collectors and lenders accountable so that New Yorkers can keep more of their hard-earned money where it belongs – in their pockets. It is absolutely urgent that the CFPB propose new rules that will stop all debt collectors from engaging in abusive behavior, prevent them from collecting debts based on inaccurate information and punish them when they do lie to courts and consumers.”

Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.