California Delays Payments for Tax Refunds

State Controller John Chiang announced today he will begin delaying, for 30 days, payments for tax refunds for individuals and businesses that overpaid their 2008 taxes. He is also delaying many other payments, including payments to businesses for services and products they provide to the State; assistance to more than 1 million aged, blind and disabled Californians; and disbursements to State agencies that use the payments to fund public services ranging from public safety to health and welfare. Chiang said: "Delaying these payments will get us through the next few months, but it will not solve the problem. Only the Governor and the Legislature have the power to avoid this drastic and painful path. They have a narrow window of opportunity to quickly enact a sound solution to bridge the State’s cash and budget deficit, and I urge them to seize it." The complete press release is available at http://www.sco.ca.gov/eo/pressbox/index.shtml.