Us Tax System

Do users making personal payments on peer-to-peer payment systems like Cash App and PayPal have to follow a "tax rule" for transactions that exceed $600? No, that's not true: No such "tax rule" exists, only a reporting adjustment for business transactions. Although the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 changed the reporting requirements for transactions that take place through peer-to-peer…

Does the government pay refugees more in monthly benefits than the average retired person drawing Social Security? No, that is not true. Refugees do receive some benefits during their first 90 days in the U.S.; however, those payments are temporary and are paid directly to nonprofit resettlement agencies, not to the refugees themselves. In contrast, the Social Security Administration pays…

Does the number of reported adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines in the United States equal half of all such reports for all vaccines over the last 30 years? Yes, that's true: Those numbers are found in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), based on data through October 22, 2021. But the numbers don't tell the full story. The COVID…

Do U.S. student loans cost the government over $60 billion more to service than those loans bring in during the year? No, that's not true: According to experts, the cost of servicing student loans is a much smaller figure than $60 billion, which means it could not result in a $60 billion difference compared to how much those loans bring…

Are Peter Breggin's claims about COVID-19 vaccine deaths, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and the SARS-CoV-2 virus all correct? No, that's not true: In describing a conspiracy's bid for global dominion, Breggin misstates the clearly labelled contents of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System database, falsely claims ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine are proven effective against COVID and falsely declares no SARS-CoV virus has been…

Is the Biden administration implementing a per-mile "driving tax" that would charge U.S. drivers an estimated eight cents per mile? No, that's not true: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which has not passed at the time of writing, only details a pilot program for a vehicle-miles traveled fee (VMT fee). Additional legislation would have to be passed to implement…

Did the Treasury Department declare the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will monitor transactions of all U.S. bank accounts over $600? No, that's not true: The Department has made no such declaration. It has proposed a change to the current law on disclosure requirements, but its proposal would require financial institutions to report aggregate numbers, not individual transactions. The claim appeared…

Did the Taliban survive from February 2020 through August 2021 with no vaccines, no masks or business shutdowns and capture Afghanistan with no mass deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic? No, that's not true: These claims were made without evidence, while independent reports by health experts and others actually working there show thousands died and that Afghanistan public officers fought the…

Has the government sent letters to farmers telling them that they must destroy their crops and be paid one-and-a-half times the value of the crop or lose all government farm subsidies? No, that's not true: A collection of hoax TikTok videos has been circulating with baseless claims about a global or U.S. government plot to destroy crops and depopulate the…

Did Dr. Dan Stock present well-reasoned arguments to the Mt. Vernon, Indiana, school board against masking and vaccination as means to mitigate the spread and harm of COVID-19, and should his arguments apply universally as public health measures? No, that's not true: The arguments made by this doctor are a mixture of true, false and irrelevant and contradict the evolving…