Join The Washington Informer Digital Subscriber List
wi hot topics
COMPILED BY STACY BROWN, WI SENIOR WRITER AND D. KEVIN MCNEIR, WI SENIOR EDITOR
Maya Angelou First Black Woman on U.S. Coin Famous author and noted civil rights leader Maya Angelou became the first African-American woman featured on the 25-cent coin. The U.S. Mint began shipping the quarters on January 10. Reportedly, the Angelou coin is the first in a series designed to celebrate the accomplishments of American women. “Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country — what we value, and how we’ve progressed as a society,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement. “I’m very proud that these coins celebrate the contributions of some of America’s most remarkable women, including Maya Angelou.” Angelou, whose works include such classics as “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” “And Still I Rise,” and “The Heart of a Woman,” died in 2014. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Barack Obama. The commemorative new coin features Angelou with her arms uplifted a bird in flight and a rising sun behind her. “They are images inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived,” officials at the U.S. Mint said in the statement. To the right are the words “e pluribus Unum,” Latin for “out of many, one,” a phrase also on the national seal. The flip side features a portrait of George Washington. “Excited to announce that Maya Angelou becomes the first Black woman to appear on a U.S. quarter,” California Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee wrote on Twitter. “The phenomenal women who shaped American history have gone unrecognized for too long – especially women of color,” Rep. Lee wrote. WI
Text INFORMER to 22828
Annual Tax Season Promises to Bring More Headaches In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Wilhelmina J. Rolark THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on each Thursday. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 by The Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send change of addresses to The Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20032. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Subscription rates are $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will be received not more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to: THE WASHINGTON INFORMER 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E Washington, D.C. 20032 Phone: 202 561-4100 Fax: 202 574-3785 news@washingtoninformer.com www.washingtoninformer.com
PUBLISHER Denise Rolark Barnes STAFF D. Kevin McNeir, Senior Editor, Copy Editor Ron Burke, Advertising/ Marketing Director Shevry Lassiter, Photo Editor Lafayette Barnes, IV, Assistant Photo Editor Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor ZebraDesigns.net, Design & Layout Mable Neville, Bookkeeper Tatiana Moten, Social Media Specialist Angie Johnson, Circulation REPORTERS Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. Collins, Timothy Cox, Will Ford (Prince George’s County Writer), Hamil Harris, Curtis Knowles, Daniel Kucin, D. Kevin McNeir, Dorothy Rowley, Brenda Siler, Lindiwe Vilakazi, Sarafina Wright, James Wright
Three-quarters of all Americans get an annual tax refund from the IRS, which often is a family's biggest check of the year. But this tax season could see a repeat of last year's snarls in processing, when about 30 million taxpayers had their returns and refunds held up by the IRS. Treasury Department officials warned on Monday that this year's tax season will be a challenge once the IRS starts processing returns on January 24. That's largely due to the IRS' sizable backlog of returns from 2021. As of December 23, the agency had 6 million unprocessed individual returns –a significant reduction from a backlog of 30 million in May, but far higher than the 1 million unprocessed returns that is more typical around the start of tax season.
"The first thing you know if you are going to cook a meal, you have to have the kitchen cleaned up from the last meal," said Mark W. Everson, vice chairman at Alliantgroup and former Commissioner of Internal Revenue at the IRS. "It just snowballs into a terrible situation." Compounding the challenge, tax preparers remind Americans that it remains difficult to reach IRS personnel on the phone. Last year, the IRS answered less than 30% of the calls it received, according to Treasury officials. But here are a few tips on how to ensure a swift tax refund: File electronically; get your refund via direct deposit; don't guesstimate; and save IRS letters about stimulus and Child Tax Credit payments. WI
D.C. Auto Show Returns After One-Year Hiatus from COVID-19
PHOTOGRAPHERS Shevry Lassiter, Roy Lewis, Jr., Robert R. Roberts, Anthony Tilghman
4 JANUARY 13 - 19, 2022
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM
