CHECKS worth between $200 and $400 will be sent out to Americans in a matter of weeks.
The checks will be given to those in New York as a rebate for the rising cost of inflation.
Payments will be sent out from the end of September[/caption]
Payments will be received towards the end of September or in early October.
There are a few eligibility requirements to receive this payment.
Primarily, to receive the money, those in New York must have filed their 2023 tax return.
A claimant cannot have been claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.
They also need to fall into the required tax bracket for their situation.
Joint tax return filers who earned up to $150,000 in 2024 will get $400.
Single filers who earned up to $75,000 will get $200.
If you filled out a 2023 Form IT-201, you will receive the payment automatically.
An estimated 8 billion people will be paid from this program, and an estimated $2 billion has been set aside for it.
Initially, $3 billion was going to be spent on the rebate program, but this changed after budget negotiations.
DIFFERING OPINIONS
New York Governor Kathy Hochul faced criticism in the lead-up to the payments being announced.
Political opponents said at the time that the money, which is being paid out of the state budget, could be better spent on other things.
Assembly member Clare Valdez, a Democrat in Queens, New York, argued that the rebate should be put towards food benefits.
She said: “Those billions of dollars should be going to SNAP benefits, to Medicaid – to things that really keep people alive.
CPI and Inflation explained
The Consumer Price Index is how the federal government measures inflation.
Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shares its CPI numbers with detailed breakdowns of which items have changing prices.
The CPI shows the amount prices rose or fell over the previous 12 months.
The calculation process is complex, but measures the changes in price for urban consumers, those living or working in an American metropolitan area.
While that does not cover everyone, it measures prices for about 90% of the population.
“It feels a little misguided.”
But Hochul stuck to her guns and said that New York citizens were the ones who should decide how they spend their money.
She stated in a speech: “We collected more money than we expected to collect because of inflation.
“And that came off the backs of hardworking families in New York. So my view is: Give it back to them.”
She added in a separate statement: “What I want to do is help struggling families and those who think we should just set it aside – I mean, I don’t understand the logic of that.
“Now more than ever, that money is essential. And anyone who criticizes … you’re tone deaf to what the New Yorkers that I’m running into want.”
Payments will be received towards the end of September or in early October[/caption]
