This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Tagged since July 2010. It may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Tagged since October 2010.

A tax refund or tax rebate is a refund on taxes when the tax liability is less than the taxes paid. Taxpayers can often get a tax refund on their income tax if the tax they owe is less than the sum of the total amount of the withholding taxes and estimated taxes that they paid, plus the refundable tax credits that they claim. (Tax refunds are money given back at the end of the financial year.)

By country[link]

United States[link]

According to the Internal Revenue Service, 77% of tax returns filed in 2004 received a refund check, with the average refund check being $2,100.^[1] In 2011 the average tax refund was $2,913. ^[2] Taxpayers may choose to have their refund directly deposited into their bank account, have a check mailed to them, or have their refund applied to the following year's income tax. As of 2006, tax filers may now split their tax refund with direct deposit in up to three separate accounts with three different financial institutions. This has given taxpayers an opportunity to save and spend some of their refund (rather than only spend their refund).^[3][4] Every year, a number of U.S. taxpayers around the country get tax refunds even if they owe zero income tax. This is due to withholding calculations and the earned income tax credit.^[5] Because withholding is calculated on an annualized basis, an individual just entering the work force or unemployed for a long period of time will have more tax than is owed withheld. Refund anticipation loans are a common means to receive a tax refund early, but at the expense of high fees that can reach over 2,000% annual interest.^[6] In the 1990s, refunds could take as long as twelve weeks to come back to the taxpayer; however, the average time for a refund is now six weeks, with refunds from electronically filed returns coming in three weeks.^[7]

Some people believe that getting a large tax refund is not as desirable as more accurate withholding throughout the year, as a large refund represents a loan paid back by the government interest-free. Optimally, a return should result in a payment owed of just less than would cause a penalty charge, which is 100% of the prior year's tax (110% for high income individuals), 90% of the current year's tax, or $1,000 for individuals who have direct withholding and do not pay estimated tax.

However, some people use the tax refund as a simple "savings plan" to get money back each year (even though it is excess money that they paid earlier in the year). Another argument is that it is better to get a refund rather than to owe money, because in the latter case one might find oneself without sufficient money in the checking account to make the necessary payment. When properly filled out, the Form W-4 will withhold approximately the correct amount of tax to eliminate a refund or amount owed, assuming the W-4 was filled out at the beginning of the tax year.^[8]

New Zealand[link]

In New Zealand, income tax is deducted by the employer under the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax system. This information is collected and held by the Inland Revenue Department (New Zealand) (IRD) and is not automatically processed. However individual earners can request a summary of earnings to see if they have overpaid or underpaid their tax for each given financial year. To claim a tax refund, a personal tax summary must be filed; this can be done by dealing with the IRD directly or through a Tax Agent. If a personal tax summary is requested in a situation where tax would be owing, a debt is created, so correct calculations prior to this request are important, and these core services are offered by third party Tax Agents. Tax Agents in New Zealand are largely self regulating, with the Online Tax Association of New Zealand (OTANZ) providing guidance and governing rules for New Zealand's largest 3 tax refund agencies whom serve most of the market for personal tax refunds.

India[link]

In India, there is a provision of refund of excess tax along with interest. For claiming a refund one has to file the income tax return within a specified period. However, under Sections 237 and 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner of Income Tax are empowered to condone a delay in the claim of a refund.^[9]

Ireland[link]

In the Republic of Ireland, income tax is deducted by the employer under the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax system. If incorrect tax credits are applied by the employer, then a refund of tax is due. Tax refunds may also be due for income deductions that are applied after the tax year has ended, if one finishes working prior to the year end, or for joint assessment of taxes for a married couple. Tax refunds must be claimed within four years of the end of the tax year if the one is assessed under the PAYE tax system.

References[link]

Me, Myself & Irene is a 2000 American comedy film directed by the Farrelly brothers, and starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon, and Mongo Brownlee co-star. The film is about a Rhode Island state trooper named Charlie who, after years of continuously suppressing his rage and feelings, suffers a psychotic breakdown which results in a second personality, Hank.

Plot[link]

Charlie Baileygates (Jim Carrey) is an 18-year veteran Rhode Island State Police trooper who has been taken advantage of by people throughout most of his life. Immediately after his marriage, his wife, Layla (Traylor Howard), cheats on him with a dwarf African-American limousine driver, named Shonté (Tony Cox), who, like Layla, is a member of the high IQ group Mensa. Although Charlie's friends try informing him of his wife's infidelity, he still denies the possibility. One year later, Layla abandons Charlie and runs off with Shonté; leaving Charlie to raise three biracial sons who are the products of Layla's adulterous affair with the limo driver. Charlie never sees his wife again. Charlie raises his illegitimate triplet sons using very vulgar language and spoiling them with sweets and unbalanced diets. Charlie's three sons become obese and foul-mouthed young adults, but they are also highly intelligent (like their real father) and they treat Charlie much better than anyone else. His wife's affair and abandonment leaves Charlie so emotionally damaged that he lets himself be abused and taken advantage of by others. Despite his friendliness and his being a police officer, the townspeople reject Charlie's authority with open scorn.

After many years of continuous abuse by the people around him, his anger builds up and Charlie develops a rude and violent split personality named Hank, caused by "advanced delusionary schizophrenia with involuntary narcissistic rage". As Hank, he goes around retaliating against anyone who has accosted him — and even harms those who really haven't. A psychiatrist prescribes a medicine to keep Hank suppressed.

Believing that Charlie needs a vacation, his commanding officer (Robert Forster), orders him to escort a woman named Irene Waters (Renée Zellweger) from Rhode Island to Massena, New York, because she reportedly committed a hit-and-run. Irene insists the hit-and-run accusation was created by Dickie, Irene's mob-connected ex-boyfriend, and corrupt police officers in his employ. When some hit men arrive with a contract on Irene's life, Charlie agrees to help her escape, while a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agent is killed by the hit men. Charlie leaves his medicine behind, causing his alter ego, Hank, to surface any time he wants.

The FBI suspects that Charlie is responsible for assassinating the EPA agent. The FBI joins Charlie's commander in pursuing Charlie and Irene. Charlie's sons pretend to work with the police to find their father, but throw the police off his trail and even steal a police helicopter to get to Charlie before the police do.

Along the way, Irene and Charlie grow close. However, Hank's random appearances both disgust and frighten Irene. Hank's aggression and resourcefulness aid in their survival, but Irene finds herself attracted to Charlie. Hank tells Irene the truth about Charlie's life, and how years of humiliation have destroyed Charlie's confidence as a man and a police officer. Hank has plastic surgery performed on Charlie's face, and uses hours of careful cunning to trick Irene into sleeping with him by posing as the good-natured Charlie. They meet a mild-mannered but mysterious young man named Whitey (who has pale skin and white-blonde hair). They continue their journey as a trio, until Whitey calmly tells Charlie the (fictional) story of how he brutally murdered his entire family. Charlie and Irene, frightened by this, sneak away in the night.

Meanwhile, Dickie orders corrupt agents to kill both Charlie and Irene. After they fail, Dickie decides to settle the matter himself. During the confrontation with Dickie, Charlie finally manages to eliminate the alternate personality and regain the courage to rescue Irene. Eventually, he manages to stop Dickie, but only after Dickie shoots off one of Charlie's thumbs. Charlie is also aided in the fight by Whitey, who reappears to throw a lawn dart into Dickie's back. With Hank gone, and Dickie's crew dead or behind bars, Irene is finally free to return to her old life. However, just after she drives away from Charlie's house, the Rhode Island State Police fakes an arrest on her and gives Charlie a chance to propose to her.

Cast[link]

• Jim Carrey as Charlie Baileygates/Hank Evans
• Renée Zellweger as Irene P. Waters
• Chris Cooper as Lt. Gerke
• Robert Forster as Colonel Partington
• Richard Jenkins as Agent Boshane
• Zen Gesner as Agent Peterson
• Michael Bowman as Casper/Whitey/Milky
• Daniel Greene as Dickie Thurman
• Anthony Anderson as Jamal Baileygates
• Mongo Brownlee as Lee Harvey Baileygates
• Jerod Mixon as Shonté Jr. Baileygates
• Tony Cox as Shonté Jackson
• Steve Tyler as Delivery Room Doctor
• Traylor Howard as Layla Baileygates
• Richard Tyson as Gun shop owner
• Cam Neely as Trooper Sea Bass
• Ezra Buzzington as Disabled guy
• Lin Shaye (deleted scenes) as Mrs. Caleron
• Lina Teal as Bikini girl
• Richard Pryor and Chris Rock (archive footage, uncredited) as Stand-up comedians on TV
• Anna Kournikova and Cam Neely appear in cameo roles

[edit] Music

The film's original score was written by Pete Yorn, while the movie's soundtrack contains several covers of Steely Dan songs performed by other bands. Examples are Smash Mouth's cover of "Do It Again", Ben Folds Five's cover of "Barrytown", and Marvelous 3's cover of "Reelin' in the Years". Other songs include "Breakout" by Foo Fighters, "Totalimmortal", originally by AFI but covered by The Offspring, "The World Ain't Slowin' Down" by Ellis Paul, and "Strange Condition" by Pete Yorn.

1. "Breakout" - Foo Fighters
2. "Do It Again"+ - Smash Mouth
3. "Deep Inside of You" - Third Eye Blind
4. "Totalimmortal" - The Offspring
5. "The World Ain't Slowin' Down" - Ellis Paul
6. "Any Major Dude Will Tell You"+ - Wilco
7. "Only A Fool Would Say That"+ - Ivy
8. "Can't Find The Time To Tell You" - Hootie & The Blowfish
9. "Bodhisattva"+ - Brian Setzer Orchestra
10. "Bad Sneakers"+ - The Push Stars
11. "Reelin' In The Years"+ - Marvelous 3
12. "Strange Condition" - Pete Yorn
13. "Barrytown"+ - Ben Folds Five
14. "Razor Boy"+ - Billy Goodrum
15. "Where He Can Hide" - Tom Wolfe

+Steely Dan cover

"Motherfucker" by The Dwarves, "Fire Like This" by Hardknox, "Don't Say You Don't Remember" by Beverly Bremers, "The Perpetrator" by Hipster Daddy-O and the Handgrenades, and "Hem of Your Garment" by Cake were included in the movie but not on the soundtrack. Pete Yorn's, Just Another can also be heard it the background, during the scene where they discuss Hank's Idea. Other songs, that appeared in the film are not included on the soundtrack album.

Reception[link]

Box office[link]

The film had the biggest opening on the weekend of June 23, 2000 making US$24.2 million in its opening weekend. The film earned $90,570,999 in the United States, and a further $58,700,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $149,270,999.

[edit] Critical response

The film received generally mixed reviews. Review website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 48%, based on 96 reviews, and an average rating of 5.3/10, with the consensus that "The Farrellys manage to produce some laughs with Irene, but the jokes have become tired." ^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Me, Myself & Irene

• Me, Myself & Irene at the Internet Movie Database
• Me, Myself & Irene at AllRovi
• Me, Myself & Irene at Box Office Mojo
• Me, Myself & Irene at Rotten Tomatoes

Suze Orman
Orman at the Time 100 Gala, May 4, 2010.
Born	Susan Lynn Orman (1951-06-05) June 5, 1951 (age 61) Chicago, Illinois
Residence	Florida, New York City, and San Francisco[1]
Nationality	American
Education	Bachelor of Arts in social work
Alma mater	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1976)
Occupation	author, television personality, motivational speaker
Known for	The Suze Orman Show
Spouse	Kathy Travis
Website
www.SuzeOrman.com The Suze Orman Show

Susan Lynn "Suze" Orman (born June 5, 1951) is an American financial advisor, author, motivational speaker, and television host.^[2]

Orman was born in Chicago and received her B.A. in social work. She worked as a waitress in Berkeley, California before becoming a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch. In 1983 she became the vice-president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities and in 1987 founded the Suze Orman Financial Group.

Her program The Suze Orman Show has aired for eleven years and is one of the highest rated shows on CNBC. She has written nine consecutive New York Times Best Sellers and has written, co-produced and hosted seven PBS specials based on her books. Her PBS shows are the most successful fundraisers for PBS and have won two Emmy awards.^[3][4] She has also won the most Gracie Awards of any individual.^[5] In 2008 and 2009, Orman was named to the Times Magazine list of 100 most influential people, the 2010 Forbes Magazine 100 most powerful women in the world, and 18th on the Forbes list of The Most Influential Women In Media.^{[citation needed]}

Early life and education[link]

Orman was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, in 1951. Her mother, Ann, worked for a rabbi and also as a legal secretary, and her father, Morrie Orman, plucked chicken feathers.^[6][7][8] Her family was Jewish; her father was a Russian immigrant and her mother's family were from Romania.^[8][9] Her parents managed a delicatessen in Hyde Park.^[10][11][12]

She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a B.A. in social work in 1976.^[13] In 2009, Orman received an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.^[13]

Career[link]

After finishing school, Orman moved to Berkeley, California and became a waitress. In 1980, she borrowed $52,000 from friends and well wishers to open a restaurant.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Later, Orman trained as an account executive for Merrill Lynch. She simultaneously and successfully sued Merrill Lynch for a prior investment loss of $50,000. After completing her training with Merrill Lynch, she remained at the firm until 1983 when she left to become vice-president of investments at Prudential Bache Securities.

In 1987, Orman resigned from Prudential and founded the Suze Orman Financial Group, in Emeryville, California. She was director of the firm until 1997.^[16]

In 2007, Orman created an interactive TV show called "Can I Afford it?".

In February 2008, Orman gave away 1 million electronic copies of her book Women and Money following an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In July, Orman began hosting a financial advice show called The Suze Orman Show. Orman has also been featured on the Food Network's Paula's Party alongside RuPaul.

In January 2011, Orman appeared on the TV show, "Oprah's Allstars".

Orman writes an advice column for O. She is the former author of Yahoo!'s "Money Matters" and has written for the Costco Connection magazine. She is also a contributor to the The Philadelphia Inquirer, Lowes MoneyWorks, and Your Business at Home Magazine.^[18][19]

In January 2012, Orman's new six-episode TV series "America's Money Class with Suze Orman" premiered on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.^[20]

Orman's prepaid debit card Approved card was released in January 2012 to with some claiming it to be a financial empowerment tool and others claiming it a "rip-off".

While she has proven herself a wealth of information about credit and very general financial issues, Orman's understanding of comprehensive financial planning has been questioned by many in the industry. Senior MarketWatch columnist Chuck Jaffe, for example, states that Orman "scores very high on the personality index, but very low on the knowledge and understanding of the complex issues that face a lot of her audience. She's giving generic, simple solutions to people's most difficult problems, and judging from her [own personal investment] portfolio she's taking them on a path she really hasn't traveled herself."^[21] And according to MSN Money's James Scurlock, "the personal-finance guru favors supersimple mantras—even when they're wrong—and psychological explanations for all your money problems."^[22]

Reception[link]

Orman has written nine New York Times Best Sellers; and has written, co-produced, and hosted seven PBS specials based on her books; and is said to be the most successful fundraiser in the history of public television.^[3] She is also considered a "top seller" on the QVChome shopping network.^[4] Orman won the Daytime Emmy Award in 2004 and 2006 in the category of Outstanding Service Show Host for her PBS pledge drive specials, The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life and The Money Show for the Young, Fabulous, & Broke. Orman has also won six Gracie Awards.^[5]

Personal life[link]

In February 2007, Orman told The New York Times Magazine that she is a lesbian.^{[23][24][25][26]} According to her Twitter page, Orman married Kathy Travis, a co-producer on The Suze Orman Show, in South Africa in September 2010.^[27]

According to the Federal Election Commission, Orman has donated money to the Democratic National Committee and to the 2000 Senate campaign of Hillary Clinton (D-NY).^[28] In 2008, Orman donated $28,000 to the Democratic National Committee.^[29] She stated in an interview with Larry King in 2008 that she favors the economic policies of the Democratic party and President Barack Obama.^[30]

In an April 2008 online interview with The Young Turks, Orman stated that her net worth is more than ten million USD.^[31]

Publications[link]

Books[link]

• You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire (with Linda Mead) (1995)
• The Nine Steps To Financial Freedom (1997)
• The Courage to Be Rich (1999)
• The Road to Wealth (2001)
• The Laws of Money, the Lessons of Life... (2003)
• The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke (2005)
• Women and Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny (2007)
• Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan (2009)
• Suze Orman's 2010 Action Plan (March 2010)
• The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream (March 2011)

Multimedia[link]

Orman is also creator of a number of non-book products, primarily CD-ROM-based services that offer education and various financial services usually in conjunction with her books and writings.

• Suze Ormans FICO Kit – First offered in 2002 in conjunction with Fair Isaac Corporation.
• Suze Orman's Will & Trust Kit – Introduced in 2005 with her personal trust attorney.
• Suze Orman's Insurance Kit – Introduced in 2007.
• Suze Orman's Protection Portfolio – First introduced in 2002, in third version.
• Suze Orman's Identity Theft Kit – First offered in 2008, in conjunction with TrustedID, Inc.
• Suze Orman's Save Yourself Retirement Program – Introduced September 2009, in conjunction with TD Ameritrade.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Suze Orman

• Suze Orman Official Site Suze Orman Financial Group Web site
• Suze Orman Show, CNBC Suze Orman Show
• Money Matters - Yahoo! Finance Orman's regular column on Yahoo! Finance
• Suze Orman Bio on CNBC.com
• CNBC. "Anchors & Reporters: Suze Orman". Retrieved July 23, 2006
• Suze Orman Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
• Suze Orman at the Internet Movie Database