April 15, 2020
Liz Writes Life
It is Tax Day – April 15th and I wonder how many people have
done their taxes?
Because of the social-distancing lockdown from the national
level, the IRS extended the annual deadline to July 15th. California followed
suit, so our state taxes are not due until July 15th as well. Yay! This is good
news for taxpayers, especially during these uncertain times with job losses due
to the covid-19 virus pandemic. Just remember (procrastinators) that we must
still get our income taxes filed – sooner than later!
There is more good news from IRS. This month, it will begin
distributing the CARES Act Relief funds into taxpayers’ bank accounts. It took
some doing, but Congress (both Houses) passed and President Trump signed this
stimulus package into law to help those enduring financial problems from the
shut-down of many businesses.
The full credit amount of $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for
couples and $500 for each child is available for individuals with Adjusted Growth
Income at or below $75,000; and couples with AGI at or below
$150,000. This income is based on your 2018 tax return. Taxpayers that provided
direct bank deposit information will likely receive this one-time rebate into
that account.
Printed paper checks will be sent for those individuals that
did not include direct deposit information. The agency responsible for printing
paper checks can only send out about 5 million per week. According to a CARES
Act press release, estimates show that 150-170 million taxpayers may be
eligible for these payments. Wow, that is a lot!
According to the CARES Act, people with the lowest incomes
will receive their payment first.
Fortunately, for Americans who don’t usually file tax
returns, (typically because of low or Social Security Benefits income) the IRS
has launched a new online tool to help them register, so they can receive this
CARES Act Economic Impact Payment. Believe it or not, the IRS worked with a
non-profit organization, called Free File Alliance, to develop this new online
tool.
Unfortunately, this will need to be done online as IRS.gov
has a (non-filers) form on its website. TurboTax and H&R Block type of
preparers should also have information on how to find the application form.
Those receiving Social Security benefits should receive their
payment into their direct deposit account.
More good news
Last week, I chatted with our Dist. 5 Siskiyou Co.
Supervisor, Ray Haupt, (by phone). He was hopeful about a recent U.S. Supreme
Court decision, which should release a significant amount of forested areas that
are off-limits to management. This decision is about “critical habitat” that
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated for an Endangered Species
Act-listed species.
In a nutshell, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal
government over-estimated where an ESA-listed animal lives and must now
re-evaluate its critical habitat. This was a lawsuit brought by a natural
resource company against the USFWS.
Ray expects this decision will affect all ESA-listed species,
including the Northern Spotted Owl. It is estimated that millions of forested
acres were designated for the owl in areas it does not live. This is proven by
over 30 years of extensive “hooting” for owls by biologists on both public and
private lands. Government agencies and land owners know where the owls are and
where they are not. This is not fake science.
Gotta say that I have been writing about this abuse by the
USFWS for decades – claiming habitat for a specie that does not live in that
area. Critical habitat has also been designated for listed-species that are not
native to the area. I wonder if this decision will affect those species?
Under the ESA, a listed-specie must be native to the area in
order to receive protection. There are species that have been ESA-listed, but
are not native. Yep, underhanded stuff has been going on for a long time.
Thanks
Ray also said that in the latest county supervisors’ board tele-video
meeting, he thanked the medical workers that have been so diligent during this
pandemic. He also thanked businesses and his constituents for their personal
sacrifices and social-distancing to keep us all safe.
“You are the unsung heroes,” he said.
Lockdown
It was about a month ago, when the covid-19 virus pandemic changed
our lives. We have been lucky, here in Siskiyou County, as we have only had 5
individuals test positive as of April 13, 2020. According to the county Public
Health website, three of those five are now well and only the two newest cases
are active. Over 157 individuals have been tested with 143 testing negative.
Nine cases are waiting for results.
Most of us are missing our normal social interaction. No
hugs! No handshakes! No job to go to! Here in Scott Valley, we are being pretty
good and keeping our distance when we go to the store, take-out food or visit
for a few minutes outside. It was hard to not attend church on Easter, but we
did it!
A few more people are turning to gardening and doing extra
cleaning of things from inside the house to our yards. So, because fire season
will soon be upon us, this is a good time to clean-up brush and weeds from
around our homes. I still need to prune the suckers around my lilac bush and clear-out
dried rye grass that is taking over my wild flower garden.
Garden
Plants are amazing. In just two weeks, since I started
irrigating the rhubarb plants, they have grown a foot-and-a-half! Of course,
the warm temps were helpful as well. I see the spinach is poking up about a
half-an-inch and some asparagus are up to two-inches tall. Took some looking
(and thinking), but I finally found where I stored my granulated fertilizer and
used it to fertilize the garlic and volunteer onions.
Looks like irrigation season has officially started and I
will need to irrigate every few days. Darn it, I miss April showers!
Liz
Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She
is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past
year can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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