Three years ago, more than 1.4 million individuals apparently decided they had better things to do than file their 2006 tax returns, even though they were due refunds. In total, more than $1.3 billion worth of refunds from that tax year is still sitting in the Internal Revenue Service account.Taxpayers can still get their old refund checks, which the IRS says could amount to more than $800 for some folks. But the claim, via a 2006 Form 1040, must be made by April 15. After that, the federally allowed three-year window of opportunity from the original filing deadline, which was April 2006, closes forever and Uncle Sam gets to keep the cash.

The IRS estimates that the median refund — meaning half of the checks will be larger and half smaller — is $604, and the money is owed to nonfiling taxpayers in every state and the District of Columbia, as well as to residents of U.S. territories and military filers who didn’t file returns that year.

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IRS holding billions in old, unclaimed tax refunds.

The number was well above the 16.6 percent jobless rate for non-veterans of the same ages, 18 to 24.

As of last year, 1.9 million veterans had deployed for the wars since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Some have struggled with mental health problems, addictions, and homelessness as they return home. Difficulty finding work can make the adjustment that much harder.

The just-released rate for young veterans was significantly higher than the unemployment rate of young veterans in that age group of 14.1 percent in 2008.

Many of the unemployed are members of the Guard and Reserves who have deployed multiple times, said Joseph Sharpe, director of the economic division at the American Legion. Sharpe said some come home to find their jobs have been eliminated because the company has downsized. Other companies may not want to hire someone who could deploy again or will have medical appointments because of war-related health problems, he said.

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Young war veterans returning home to unemployment – Yahoo! News.

The administration gave signs of retreating on its demands that senators jettison special home-state deals sought by individual lawmakers that have angered the public.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs predicted House passage this week, before Obama travels to Asia, a trip he postponed to push for the bill.

“This is the week where we will have this important vote,” Gibbs said. “I do think this is the climactic week for health care reform.”

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Dem House Vote-Counter Lacks Health Care Votes Now – ABC News.

It’s time to start cashing them in.

For more than two decades, Social Security collected more money in payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits — billions more each year.

Not anymore. This year, for the first time since the 1980s, when Congress last overhauled Social Security, the retirement program is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more.

Sounds like a good time to start tapping the nest egg. Too bad the federal government already spent that money over the years on other programs, preferring to borrow from Social Security rather than foreign creditors. In return, the Treasury Department issued a stack of IOUs — in the form of Treasury bonds — which are kept in a nondescript office building just down the street from Parkersburg’s municipal offices.

Now the government will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back the IOUs, and the timing couldn’t be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come.

Social Security’s shortfall will not affect current benefits. As long as the IOUs last, benefits will keep flowing. But experts say it is a warning sign that the program’s finances are deteriorating. Social Security is projected to drain its trust funds by 2037 unless Congress acts, and there’s concern that the looming crisis will lead to reduced benefits.

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Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs – Yahoo! News.

Meanwhile, despite several media inquiries over the last few weeks and the comgressmens’ statments, the White House continues to withhold comment on the matter.

Sestak’s opponent in the primary, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, both said this week that if Sestak’s claim is true, such a job offer could constitute a federal crime.

Specter specifically said it would constitute bribery, while Issa referenced three sections of the U.S. code on the matter.

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CNSNews.com – Two Members of Congress Say That If Administration Offered Sestak Job to Drop Senate Race It Could Be a Crime.

1. We see many disastrous returns prepared by ill-trained preparers. When selecting a preparer, many people shop price and not experience. We don’t like to knock the competition — however, the old axiom, “you get what you pay for” is often true. There are some companies that put their newly hired preparers through a six-week, evenings-only tax course, and then turn them loose to prepare returns with very little oversight. In other words, the person preparing your return might have been styling hair or selling appliances six weeks ago.

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7 Things Your Tax Accountant Won’t Tell You on Shine.

States from New York to Hawaii that have been hard-hit by the economic downturn say they have either delayed refunds or are considering doing so because of budget shortfalls.

“It’s an indicator of how bad it is,” says Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers. “You know things are bad when you have to do that.”

New York, hit with a $9 billion deficit, may delay $500 million in refunds to keep the state from running out of cash, says Gov. David Paterson.

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States may hold onto tax refunds for months – USATODAY.com.

Social Security benefits are off-limits to creditors, such as credit-card companies and banks. But the U.S. can collect debts to federal agencies by “offsetting,” or withholding Social Security and disability payments.

The Treasury currently withholds benefits of 3.1 million Social Security recipients to recover defaulted student-, farm- and small-business loans, unpaid income taxes, amounts veterans owe for health care, and other debts to the government.

Previously, the U.S. hasn’t been able to withhold Social Security payments to recover most debts delinquent for more than ten years.

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Defaulted Loans May Haunt Seniors – WSJ.com.

Tying the student-loan and health-care legislation “has always been part of the plan,” Ms. Pelosi (D., Calif.) said.

House Democrats are readying a two-part strategy to pass the legislation. First, the House is expected to vote on a Senate-passed version of health-care legislation. Later, it will vote on a package of changes to the bill, which will be considered under a fast-track legislative process known as budget reconciliation.

The House Budget Committee announced that it would meet Monday at 3 p.m. to initiate the reconciliation process.

The White House announced Friday that President Barack Obama will delay a trip to Asia so that he can concentrate on the health-care bill. Mr. Obama was originally scheduled to leave Washington March 18, but will now depart March 21.

Ms. Pelosi said she is “delighted that the president will be there for the passage of the bill.” A Pelosi spokesman said lawmakers want to vote on the measure before next weekend, setting up a possible vote on the measure next Friday.

Ms. Pelosi also said that she expected the total cost of the measure would be equal to, or less than, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s most recent estimate of the Senate bill, which projected an $875 billion price tag over 10 years and overall deficit reduction of $118 billion.

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Health-Care, Student-Loan Bills to Be Paired – WSJ.com.

Many say they may charge more to cover spouses, tighten eligibility standards for their health plans and dispense financial rewards or penalties based on the results of certain lab tests. At some companies, overweight employees could be excluded from the most desirable plans.

Meanwhile, employees at many companies can expect significantly higher premiums, deductibles and co-payments, according to the annual survey by the National Business Group on Health, a coalition of big employers, and Towers Watson, a consulting firm that advises companies on employee benefits.

“This shows that the constant, unrelenting increases in health-care costs are going to cost employees and their families more and more,” said Helen Darling, president of the business group. Faced with rapidly rising medical expenses, “employers are going to have to do something,” she said.

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Employers plan to shift more health-care costs to workers, survey reports – washingtonpost.com.