INDIANAPOLIS - Some Hoosiers have already filed their taxes and received their refunds, but there are some who may not even have gathered up their paperwork to get started. The April 15 deadline is just a week away and, according to IRS Indiana spokesman Luis Garcia, for most taxpayers filing is a simple process and can be done online through e-file. For those who owe, but do not have the money to pay up right away, Garcia said the IRS offers payment options to help them meet their federal tax obligations.

"We can adjust for what you can pay and what is for the foreseeable future assumed to be your income," he said. "A lot of people think it's the end of the world, or all sorts of bad things are going to happen, and that's not the case at all."

Taxpayers will avoid penalties by either filing by April 15 or requesting a tax-filing extension and paying an estimate of what is owed, if anything.

He pointed out that it is an extension to file, not an extension to pay, and added that those who are unable to file and think they will owe should go ahead and make an estimated payment by the 15th.

"If you were self-employed, or a person whose taxes are a little bit different than the standard W-2 and your income, your deductions, and everything have pretty much been the same since last year, you would want to pay that same amount as last year, maybe pad it a little bit," Garcia suggested.

As usual this time each year, there are some phone and email scams targeting taxpayers. Garcia said the scammers claim they are from the IRS, telling people they are behind on their taxes and demanding immediate payment. And while the Caller ID may indicate "IRS," he said that's not the case; it's a fake.

"In most cases you are going to have several letters from the IRS before you receive a phone call, but it's very rare that you will get a call out of the blue from the IRS, and we will certainly not use threatening language and we will not ask for immediate payment on a credit card or wire transfer," the IRS official said.

According to Garcia, an estimated 82 percent of taxpayers in Indiana will receive refunds, this year averaging $3000.

More information on filing is available online at IRS.gov.






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September is Workforce Development Month and North Dakota offices managing energy assistance programs hope people in need of a fresh career start will give weatherization work some thought.

Community Action Agencies help low-income individuals sign up for aid to keep their heating and cooling bills lower. These offices also have teams specializing in weatherization, with free repairs and upgrades for eligible households, so their homes are safe and healthy and energy systems run more efficiently.

Willy Soderholm, executive director of the Community Action Partnership-Minot Region, said his crews have veteran leadership but there are still turnover issues with newer staff.

"They're working underneath the trailer-house bellies," Soderholm pointed out. "They're working up in the attics and things like that. And plus, you know, they're working out in the cold."

Despite the challenging work, Soderholm noted those who make it through a full season can realize the stability and rewarding mission aligned with the jobs. He explained there are benefits, competitive pay and training available. His region has a waiting list of more than 40 homes in need of weatherization work and a complete staff could help whittle down the number.

Recent federal policies have boosted weatherization funding, with office leaders noting job availability should not be as unpredictable in the coming years. Beyond charting a new career path, Soderholm emphasized joining one of the teams means you are helping people in your community meet basic needs.

"We're really looking for somebody that has compassion to work with those in need and understand the struggles that are going on out there," Soderholm explained.

Soderholm added his agency's longtime staff is nearing retirement age, which should create pressure and opportunities for others to advance their careers. Similar workforce challenges are reported by other offices around the country.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, such programs have led to nearly 275 jobs created or retained in North Dakota since 2015.

A new report showed Connecticut's post-pandemic job growth lags behind the rest of the nation.

The State of Working Connecticut report found personal income, gross domestic product and job growth are all falling behind the U.S. averages. Though low-wage workers saw significant wage growth to help with their cost of living, post-pandemic inflation has eroded the gains.

Patrick O'Brien, research and policy director at Connecticut Voices for Children and the report's author, said one reason for the state's slow job growth is its overall unaffordability.

"You need to make the state more affordable for families to stay here and grow here and for also some families to move here," O'Brien urged. "You could think about, you know, addressing affordable housing, affordable child care, a child tax credit. Those types of things that make it more affordable for families to live in the state."

Slower economic growth can also be attributed to the lagging recovery of public-sector jobs, which plummeted around the start of the pandemic. But nationwide, such jobs returned to pre-pandemic levels around mid-2022. Connecticut is close to the national average but has not reached pre-pandemic levels. The report showed building up the public-sector workforce could also significantly reduce wage inequality.

The report recommended ending the subminimum wage, limiting noncompete agreements and improving early childhood education to bolster Connecticut's economy. Bringing the changes to fruition will not be easy. O'Brien noted budget controls could prevent such policies from being enacted.

"With the fiscal controls and our tight budget, it's hard to get funding to increase individual programs," O'Brien pointed out. "Because there's a spending cap, that money tends to have to come from somewhere else."

He added the state has tried to reduce government spending by not filling public-sector jobs. But it can negatively affect the state budget, because it slows personal income growth and income tax collection. O'Brien thinks if nothing is done, Connecticut will remain on the same trajectory of repressed economic growth.

Average teacher pay increased in 2023, but a new study shows it still lags far behind that of other college graduates.

Average weekly wages for teachers across the nation increased 1.7% last year. But it was still more than 26 percentage points below other college graduates.

Sylvia Allegretto, senior economist with the Center on Economic Policy Research, is author of the report - and said there's a vast disparity across states, with Idaho among the states falling behind.

"The worst is in Colorado at just over 38% - and then Idaho, the teacher pay gap is 27.1%," said Allegretto. "So, not really great news, but it's not the worst in the country."

Wyoming had the smallest gap between teacher pay and other college graduates, at 9%. Nearly three quarters of states had gaps larger than 20%.

Allegretto noted that the gap for teachers has increased significantly in recent decades, from about 6% in 1996 to more than 26% in 2023.

She said this is having far-reaching effects for a profession that's one of the most important in the country.

"Are we able to retain the teachers that are already in the profession?" said Allegretto. "And how are we going to attract and retain future students of today to choose teaching as a profession?"

Allegretto said more public investment in education will be necessary to correct this issue.

"There's not going to be one way to do this," said Allegretto, "but it is definitely going to take federal, state and local government effort."




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