1 DEBORAH  WEINSWIG,  MANAGING  DIRECTOR,  FUNG  GLOBAL  RETAIL  &  TECHNOLOGY  DEBORAHWEINSWIG@FUNG1937.COM    US:  917.655.6790    HK:  852.6119.1779    CN:  86.186.1420.3016  Copyright  ©  2016  The  Fung  Group.  All  rights  reserved.  

April 15, 2016

2016 Tax Return Tracker #10 • The  Internal  Revenue  Service  (IRS)  tracks  tax  return  filings  on  a  weekly  basis.  

• As  of  April  8,  the  IRS  had  received  approximately  107.5  million  tax  returns,  down  3.0%  from  the  same  time  a  year  ago.  

• Nearly  81.8  million  refunds  had  been  issued  as  of  April  8,  totaling  $228.8  billion  and  averaging  $2,798  each.  

In  exchange  for  a  small  portion  of  our  tax  dollars,  Uncle  Sam  (through  his  IRS  arm)  keeps  us  updated   with   data   on   the   returns   filed   during   tax   season.   The   filing   deadline   for   IRS   tax  returns  falls  on  April  18  this  year.  

As  of  April  8,  2016:  

• The  IRS  had  received  nearly  107.5  million  tax  returns,  and  had  processed  104.5  million  of  them.  The  number  of  returns  filed  was  down  3.0%  from  the  same  time  last  year.  

• Of   the   returns   filed,   91.9%   were   electronically   filed.   Of   those,   nearly   57.7%   were  prepared  by  tax  professionals;  the  remaining  42.3%  were  self-­‐prepared.  

• More  people  are  using   the   IRS  website   to  get   information:   the   site   logged  about  291.6  million  visits,  up  6.2%  from  a  year  ago.  

• Nearly  81.8  million  refunds  had  been  issued,  totaling  $228.8  billion  and  averaging  $2,798  each.  The  number  of  refunds  issued  was  down  1.7%  and  the  total  amount  refunded  was  down  0.9%  from  the  corresponding  date   last  year.  Of  those  refunds  issued,  85.7%  were  paid  using  direct  deposit.   The  average  direct  deposit   refund  was  $2,961,  up  0.5%   from  the  corresponding  date  last  year.  

Figure  1.  2016  Filing  Season  Statistics      Cumulative  Statistics  Comparing  4/10/15  and  4/8/16  

Individual  Income  Tax  Returns:   2015   2016   %  Change  Total  Receipts   110,754,000   107,452,000   (3.0)%  Total  Processed   108,000,000   104,527,000   (3.2)%          E-­‐Filing  Receipts:  Total   100,759,000   98,731,000   (2.0)%  Tax  Professionals   59,976,000   57,006,000   (5.0)%  Self-­‐Prepared   40,783,000   41,725,000   2.3%          

Web  Usage:  Visits  to  IRS.gov   274,611,418   291,585,552   6.2%          Total  Refunds:  Number   83,184,000   81,751,000   (1.7)%  Amount  (USD  Bil.)   $230.9   $228.8   (0.9)%  Average  Refund   $2,776   $2,798   0.8%          Direct  Deposit  Refunds:  Number   70,510,000   70,027,000   (0.7)%  Amount  (USD  Bil.)   $207.8   $207.4   (0.2)%  Average  Refund   $2,947   $2,961   0.5%  Source:  IRS  

 

  2 DEBORAH  WEINSWIG,  MANAGING  DIRECTOR,  FUNG  GLOBAL  RETAIL  &  TECHNOLOGY  DEBORAHWEINSWIG@FUNG1937.COM    US:  917.655.6790    HK:  852.6119.1779    CN:  86.186.1420.3016  Copyright  ©  2016  The  Fung  Group.  All  rights  reserved.  

John  Hancock  Financial  recently  released  its  quarterly  Investment  Sentiment  Survey.  The  poll  was   conducted   by   Greenwald   &   Associates   and   surveyed   1,008   individuals   who   were  considered  to  be  affluent  investors.  All  respondents  were  required  to  participate  in  household  financial  decisions  and  have  an  annual  household  income  of  at  least  $75,000  and  assets  of  at  least  $100,000.  In  addition  to  surveying  investor  sentiment,  this  quarter’s  poll  took  a  look  at  how  respondents  plan  to  spend  their  tax  refunds.  The  poll  found  that  51%  of  those  surveyed  expect  to  receive  a  federal  tax  refund.    In  many  of  the  other  surveys  we  have  reported  on  in  our  Tax  Tracker,  higher  proportions  of  those   surveyed   said   they   planned   to   splurge  with   their   refund:   in   the  Hancock   survey,   just  21%   of   those   polled   said   they   planned   to   spend   their   refund   (respondents   were   able   to  choose  more  than  one  option  for  how  they  will  use  their  refund).    Figure  2.  How  Will  Affluent  Investors  Spend  Their  Tax  Refund?  

 Source:  John  Hancock  Financial  

   

53%  

29%  

21%  

Save   Pay  Down  Debt   Spend  

 

  3 DEBORAH  WEINSWIG,  MANAGING  DIRECTOR,  FUNG  GLOBAL  RETAIL  &  TECHNOLOGY  DEBORAHWEINSWIG@FUNG1937.COM    US:  917.655.6790    HK:  852.6119.1779    CN:  86.186.1420.3016  Copyright  ©  2016  The  Fung  Group.  All  rights  reserved.  

 Deborah  Weinswig,  CPA  Managing  Director  Fung  Global  Retail  &  Technology  New  York:  917.655.6790    Hong  Kong:  852.6119.1779  China:  86.186.1420.3016  deborahweinswig@fung1937.com    John  Harmon,  CFA  Analyst  

Ross  Beroff    Research  Intern  

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