The wait for a tax refund continues for thousands of Rhode Islanders

By Ana Bottary

abottary@abc6.com

@anabottary

It’s been months since many Rhode Islanders filed their tax returns. However, thousand are still waiting on their refund.
 
"So far this year there have been 12,000 tax payers that have not received refunds to date,” says Acting Tax Administrator Neena Savage.
 
But, we are told that number is normal.
 
"At this point we are all caught up. The ones we have outstanding are typical. We are exactly where we were last year at this time,” says Governor Gina Raimondo.
 
Savage says tax refunds delays were due to the implementation of a new computer system that will cut down on fraud. She adds, the outstanding returns are still in limbo because they are being looked over individually, due to being suspected as fraud, have errors, or were filed after the deadline. However, those who have not received their refund 90 days after filing will start to accrue simple interest at a rate of 3.25 %.
 
Savage says while the tax return process was slower this year, they have stopped more potential fraud.
 
"This year we have saved so far and it’s only half of the year, approximately a little over half an additional 2 million dollars through our fraud efforts, last year we had save about 1.6 million the entire year,” Savage adds.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2016