News Bulletin: More Than 600,000 Jobs Added, Gas Taxes Spiking, IRS Interest Checks to be Sent, And More

US Economy Sees 661,000 Jobs Added Back And Unemployment Down According To September Jobs Report | Yahoo! Finance

According to the Labor Department’s September jobs report, the U.S economy saw another 661,000 added jobs in September.¹ The unemployment rate dipped from 8.4% in August to 7.9% in September, continuing its downward trend and signaling modest recovery in the labor market. However, the number of Americans who have permanently lost their jobs (as opposed to being temporarily furloughed) has risen to 3.8 million, a total increase of 2.5 million since February.¹

Because less Americans are driving during the pandemic due to working from home or social distancing, several states have seen a shortfall in revenue from taxes on gasoline that are meant to fund road repairs. This decrease in revenue has led some states to increase their fuel tax to offset the shortfalls. For example, New Jersey raised its state fuel tax from 30.9 cents to 40.2 cents for gasoline and from34.9 cents to 44.2 cents for diesel fuel. Meanwhile, the reduced demand for gas due to COVID-19 has lowered the average price of gasoline to $2.18 a gallon according to AAA as of late September.2

As many as 13.9 million taxpayers will receive an additional payment from the IRS this year. The IRS pays interest on tax refunds to taxpayers who timely file their federal income tax returns. Starting on April 15^th every year, interest begins to accrue on your refund until the payment is issued.³ Because Tax Day was postponed to July 15^th this year and the IRS has such a high backlog of returns right now, many eligible taxpayers who waited to file their taxes until later in the year will have accrued much more interest than normal. The IRS pays 5% annual interest, compounded daily from April 15^th through June 30^th. After July 1^st, the rate decreases to the legally prescribed rate for the third quarter of 3%.⁴ The interest amount, averaging $18, will be sent out as a second paper check or direct deposit. While this may be a welcome bit of extra money for many Americans, the interest on tax refunds is taxable, so those who receive it will have to pay taxes on it in the next tax year.

Walmart has announced its “Black Friday Deals for Days” event with plans to spread out Black Friday savings across three events in November. Consumers can shop online or in-store or shop online and pick-up from a store with contact-free curbside delivery. The events will be as follows, according to Walmart’s website:⁵
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ACE Elite Plans	ACE Elite Pay-As-You-Go Plan	ACE Elite FeeAdvantage Plan (Monthly)	ACE Elite with Direct Deposit FeeAdvantage Plan⁴ (Monthly)
Cost of Fee Plan	N/A	$9.95	$5.00
Signature Purchase Transactions	$1.00 each	included	included
PIN Purchase Transactions¹	$2.00 each	included	included
Average Cost Per Month	$15.00³	$9.95	$5.00
ATM Cash Withdrawals (Domestic)²	$2.50 each	$2.50 each	$2.50 each

Goodbye to Hidden Fees Fees Related to the Service: Refunds are at par. None of the fees shown are assessed by MetaBank or the Card Association. ATM withdrawals may be subject to varying daily limits at the ATM owner's discretion.	ACE Elite™ Pay-As-You-Go Plan	ACE Elite™ FeeAdvantage™ Plan (Monthly)	ACE Elite™ with Direct Deposit FeeAdvantage™ Plan (Monthly)
Card Purchase Fee	$0	$0	$0
Plan Fee	N/A	$9.95	$5.00* *To be eligible for this optional fee plan, have $500 deposited during one calendar month.
Signature Purchase Transaction Fee	$1.00 each	included	included
PIN Purchase Transaction Fee	$2.00 each	included	included
Balance Inquiry Fee: via toll-free number (automated service) via toll-free number (customer service agent) at ATM online via Anytime Alerts™^**	$0.50 each $0.50 each $0.50 each Free Free	$0.50 each $0.50 each $0.50 each Free Free	$0.50 each $0.50 each $0.50 each Free Free
Bill Payment Fee	In addition to the one or more no-cost bill payment methods made available through third-party service providers, a full range of options and applicable fees appear at the Site.
Stop Payment Fee for Preauthorized Payment	$10.00 each
Domestic ATM Cash Withdrawal	$2.50 per withdrawal, plus ATM owner fees, if any
International ATM Cash Withdrawal	$4.95 per withdrawal, plus ATM owner fees, if any
ATM Transaction Decline Fee	$1.00 each

Direct Deposit	Free
Add cash, checks or withdraw cash at a NetSpend Reload Network location	Convenience fee determined by location
Bank Transfer	Free; transfer fees from the originating bank may apply
Instant Bank Transfer	$5.95 each (deducted from the transferor's debit card account
Account-to-Account Transfer via text message or online	Free; standard text message rates may apply
Account-to-Account Transfer via toll-free number (automated service)	$1.00 each
Account-to-Account Transfer via toll-free number (Customer Service Agent)	$4.95 each

Check or Additional Statement Mailing Fee	$5.95 each
Additional Card Fee	$3.95 each (standard Card)
Additional Card Fee		$4.95 each (custom Card)
Lost, stolen or damaged Card Replacement Fee	$3.95 each (standard Card)
Lost, stolen or damaged Card Replacement Fee		$4.95 each (custom Card)
Account Maintenance Fee	$5.95 per month (fee applies if Card Account has not had any activity, that is, no purchases; no cash withdrawals; no load transactions; or no balance inquiry fee for 90 days)