By Daniel Villarreal
Late Monday evening, the U.S. Treasury Department ordered the Internal Revenue Service to print President Donald Trump’s name on the stimulus checks it is sending to millions of Americans nationwide, reports The Washington Post.
The Treasury Department’s order could cause the checks to be delayed by several days or longer, senior agency officials told the publication.
The unprecedented decision will mark the first time in history that a president’s name has ever appeared on an IRS disbursement. Usually, presidents’ names don’t appear on checks issued by the Treasury Department in order to keep such payments non-partisan.
His name will appear on the memo line appearing left side of the stimulus check.
Administration officials who spoke anonymously because they weren’t authorized to publicly discuss the matter said that Trump had originally asked Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to allow him to formally sign the checks, but the president isn’t legally authorized to do so.
The stimulus checks, otherwise known as Economic Impact Payments, were included in the $2.2 trillion stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by Trump late last March. The checks are intended to alleviate the financial burden now facing over 6 million American workers who’ve lost jobs or wages due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Those eligible to receive a check can get an individual minimum of $1,200 if they earn less than $75,000. or a joint payment of $2,400 if they’re married couples and collectively earn up to $150,000—additional payments of up to $500 are available to those who live with children under the age of 17.
The stimulus checks won’t be taxed and won’t count toward future taxable income.
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Some Americans have already started receiving their stimulus checks in the form of direct deposits. People can set up direct deposit with the IRS and Treasury Department if they haven’t already. The IRS will also launch a “Get My Payment” app by April 17 that will allow people to apply for direct deposits and track the delivery of their checks.
“We know how important that is to all those hard-working Americans, many of which are home not working at the moment,” Mnuchin said.
At the April 6 White House coronavirus briefing, Trump said another round of direct payments “is absolutely under serious consideration.”
