Consumer News: IRS processes millions of tax returns, inflation forcing more Americans to stretch their paychecks

Consumer News with ABC Columbia is brought to you by Grow Financial.

CNN– Americans are already starting to get their tax returns from the IRS. The federal agency says it received nearly 17 million returns as of this weekend. That’s on top of the backlog of 2020 returns the IRS is still busy working through. It says nearly 13 million tax returns have been processed, averaging roughly $2,200 per refund. You have until April 18 to file income tax returns.

ABC NEWS– Americans are caught in the grip of inflation, forced to make some painful decisions about how to stretch their paychecks as prices are rising across the board at the fastest rate in 40 years. The Producer Price Index, which keeps tabs on average price changes U.S. producers get for their goods, rose 9.7% in the past 12 months.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that’s much higher than economists had predicted. The price increase for January 2022 alone rose a full percentage point, doubling the amount analysts had forecast. Now, retailers are joining the band wagon by driving up their costs in some sneaky ways. ABC’s Becky Worley has the details.