Gov. Paterson Pushes Delay In Tax Refund Check Payment To Balance Budget

Governor David Paterson and New York State are facing huge trouble with the budget situation. The governor's latest idea is one he's borrowing from California. He would like to delay the payment of hundreds of millions of dollars in refund checks to those taxpayers who overpaid their taxes.

New York set aside $1.75 billion for tax refunds through the end of the fiscal year on March 31. The governor wants to raid that pile, reducing it by a half-billion dollars. That improves cash flow but would delay refund checks for thousands of taxpayers.

And how are New Yorkers reacting to the news? "It's not fair!" one woman said.

"I'm not really happy with it to tell you the truth but we really don't have a choice," another woman said.

"I think it's okay, as long as you get your money," one man said.

New York was not alone in trying to close a massive budget deficit. David Paterson was not the first governor to float the idea of delaying tax refunds.

Recently, seven states, including California and Maryland, have delayed refunds or issued IOUs.

None of this addresses why the states are in the mess they're in; the structural deficits due to overspending and overoptimistic revenue projections. So, again we have politicians pushing solutions that only harm taxpayers who expect refund checks.