TAKING AIM AT DEBTMilitary personnel can be particularly vulnerable to predatory lending, a form of "financial quicksand" with excessive fees, constant rollovers and annual interest rates that can hit 300 percent to 400 percent, according to a 2006 study by the Center for Responsible Lending. Among the findings:-- Predatory lending undermines military readiness and harms morale of troops and their families by trapping them in a cycle of debt.-- Military recruits are especially susceptible because they're younger and less experienced in money management.-- Active-duty military personnel in 2005 were three times more likely than civilians to take out a so-called payday loan.-- Payday lenders often target military bases, clustering offices near the front gates.-- In 2005, the cost of abusive payday lending fees to active-duty military was estimated at more than $80 million a year.-- To reduce that impact, Congress last October capped the annual percentage rate at 36 percent for three types of loans to military members: payday loans, tax-refund anticipation loans and vehicle title loans.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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How financial problems affect the military
Submitted by SHNS on Mon, 09/01/2008 - 14:37
Paying taxes unites us. It also divides us. People can pay five and even six times more in state and local taxes than other folks in similar circumstances making similar incomes.
Who's got your number?
In one of the fastest-growing forms of identity theft, crooks are stealing tax refunds by swiping personal information and using it to trick the Internal Revenue Service.




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