[ABC] BILLION DOLLAR GIVEAWAY: EASY MONEY

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BILLION DOLLAR GIVEAWAY: EASY MONEY

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS (ABC NEWS)(OC): Here's about [1]the last thing you expect to hear from Washington.  "We have your money, please come and get it."  but that's exactly what [2]the IRS is doing right now, announcing that [3]it's sitting on more than $1 billion that taxpayers own but have failed to claim.  ABC's senior national correspondent, Jim Avila, has more on [4]who's eligible for the money and how you can get it.

TAXPAYER (FEMALE): Are you kidding?  This is fantastic.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): It's something you may have seen on "Good Morning America."

TAXPAYER (FEMALE): Oh my God.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): The sound and sight of joy, as states and cities give back thousands in [5]over collected fees and taxes.

TAXPAYER (MALE): This is unbelievably helpful.  This is perfect.  [6]Mortgage is met for next week.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): And now, your rich uncle, Sam, is advertising [7]the biggest giveback of all.  $1 billion of [8]overpaid federal taxes, ready to [9]refund to 1 million taxpayers who did not [10]file their 2008 taxes.

DOUGLAS SHULMAN (COMMISSIONER OF IRS): So, our job at the IRS is to make sure the proper amount of taxes are paid, which means [11]we collect the money if you owe it.  But we also [12]get it back into Americans' pockets if we owe it back to them.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): Who's leaving this money on the table?  The IRS says mostly [13]low-wage earners, like waiters and waitresses, freelancers and [14]the working poor.  [15]People who don't make enough money to owe any taxes, but every week [16]their employer still deducts cash from their check.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): [17]The average unclaimed refund?  More than $600.  If they file now, before April 17th, they'll get all that money back.  If they don't, [18]what's left behind goes back into the US Treasury.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(OC): Is there any reason I shouldn't go after it?

FRED SLATER (CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT): No.  There's no reason you shouldn't go after it.  There are no legal issues and no other issues.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): [19]Tax accountants say the IRS uses [20]these refund alerts to [21]lure non-filers into the system.  You may not owe this year, but some time in the future, you probably will.

DOUGLAS SHULMAN (COMMISSIONER OF IRS): We think of this as a long-term game.  And make sure that [22]the tax system is run fair, [23]year in and year out and we do what's right.

JIM AVILA (ABC NEWS)(VO): And don't worry.  If you claim your share of the billion and file now, three years late, it's only a crime if you owe the IRS money.  Jim Avila, ABC News, New York.

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[1] 워싱턴으로부터 전해온 (여러분이) 전혀 예상치 못했을 소식

[2] 미 국세청 (Internal Revenue Service)

[3] 납세자들의 돈이지만 환급 신청되지 않은 돈을 10억 달러 이상 보유하고 있다

[4] 환급 자격이 되는 사람

[5] 과다 징수된 수수료와 세금

[6] 다음 주에 주택담보대출금 갚을 것이 있다

[7] 역대 최대 환급 규모

[8] 과다 납세된 연방 세금

[9] 환급하다

[10] 2008년 세금을 신고하다

[11] 국민이 내야 할 돈이 있으면 징수한다

[12] 다시 국민에게 돌려주다

[13] 저임금 근로소득자들

[14] ‘워킹 푸어’ (직장은 있지만 가난한 사람들)

[15] 세금을 낼 만큼 충분히 돈을 벌지 못하는 사람들

[16] 고용주가 그들의 임금에서 여전히 세금을 공제하다

[17] (주인이) 찾아가지 않은 평균 환급금

[18] 찾아가지 않은 돈은 다시 국고로 들어간다

[19] 세무회계사들

[20] 이런 환급 고지 통고

[21] 세금 미신고자들을 제도권으로 끌어들이다

[22] 세제는 공평하게 운용된다

[23] 매년