Californians still waiting for refunds

I was certainly hopeful when California finally hammered out a budget last month.

But apparently there's a big chasm between enactment of a budget and its practical implementation.

For Californians awaiting their state tax refunds, that means the checks are still not in the mail.

"Even though the budget is enacted, the state must now determine if there is sufficient cash to pay outstanding debts, including tax refunds," says the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) Web site. "Until then, refunds will continue to be delayed."

Uh oh. IOU: Even worse, officials say if the state's cash flow problems do not improve, Controller John Chiang may need to issue IOUs.

That's right. Old-fashioned pieces of paper promising to eventually pay.

"If the Controller has to issue IOUs," say the FTB Web page, "you will receive a paper IOU warrant, even if you requested a direct deposit of your refund."

Yeah, that's going to be a real popular piece of mail.

So when might the FTB start cutting tax refund checks? No one knows.

All the FTB will say is that "as soon as the cash problems are solved, the refund delay will be lifted." So keep checking the state Web site for updates.

Californians still waiting for refunds