IRS Goes on YouTube to Talk Tax Rebates

The Internal Revenue Service has begun posting tax advice videos on YouTube in an effort to get the word out about tax rebates and scams.

So far, the agency has posted four videos on the Google-owned service, noted USA Today. The videos are available on a YouTube channel run by the American Payroll Association. The videos feature IRS employees standing beside American flags and discussing various aspects of the rebates, including the upcoming "Super Saturday" on March 29 when the IRS will be opening hundreds of its offices to offer help to low-income people who don't normally file tax returns so they can receive economic stimulus payments.

"The IRS will be sending economic stimulus payments to a lot of Americans later this year and we want to make sure everyone who is eligible gets the payment," said former IRS Acting Commissioner Linda Stiff in one video.

Another video warns taxpayers to beware of rebate scams in which someone telephones or e-mails claiming to be from the IRS and asks for a bank account number in which to deposit the tax rebate. The video warns that the IRS would never call or e-mail taxpayers asking for personal information.