Perdue wants tax refund delays to stop

By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — North Carolina residents won’t have to wait for months to get their tax refunds this year if Gov. Beverly Perdue gets her way.

Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said Tuesday the governor has told administration leaders to find a way to pay refunds to individual tax filers within 30 to 45 days of receiving their returns. The Revenue Department took heat in 2009 and 2010 for delaying refund payments because the poor economy was making cash tight in government coffers.

Pearson said Revenue Secretary David Hoyle and state budget director Charlie Perusse are working on a way to meet Perdue’s timeline. Pearson says that could include short-term borrowing that’s repaid when cash flow improves. Borrowing would cost less than the interest the state pays on overdue refunds.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)