So in the US you have a cheque - sorry - check fairy that sprinkles pixie dust on your bank accounts and you have more money?

Only in the Spring time - when the weather warms up and the mushrooms start to grow?

Or is this revenue?

Here in the UK we - theoretically - sort out our allowances beforehand, employers are sent a code for each employee to use to calculate the amount of tax to take from any amount of pay, so only if something goes awry do we pay too much, or too little.

So the US economy is sort of tidal - if all the working population overpays through the collection system, and then at the end of the financial year - presumably there is a reckoning and you get back some of it according to your situation - wife? Children? Mortgage? Insurance? But for that you'd have to be registered and in the White Economy?

Does every working citizen get a repayment - or do some get a nasty shock on opening a buff envelope?

I supose if I watched more TV I would be familiar with the system, but the last American 'real life' series I watched was - probably - Mr Ed.