August 18, 2008 Stimulus checks owed to more than 150,000 MA residents

BOSTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service says more than 150,000 Massachusetts residents have not yet filed paperwork to receive federal economic stimulus checks.

The IRS and community groups say they are working hard to make sure that those people, many of them low-income retirees and disabled veterans, file a tax form by the Oct. 15 deadline.

Many low-wage workers and recipients of Social Security and veterans benefits do not file tax returns because their incomes are not high enough to require it, or their benefits are not taxable.

But low-income residents who earned at least $3,000 last year still qualify for individual payments of $300, or $600 for joint filers.

Advocates say the money can be critical for the well-being of the poor or elderly.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)