You were probably a beneficiary of the stimulus check 2008, but do you know much about it? More than 100 million people were sent payments simply for filing a tax return; the amount varied according to the person and their individual circumstances, but it ranged from 300 to 600 dollars per person. Families with children received an extra 300 dollars for each of their offspring, although the children had to have a social security number in order to qualify.

While there were many who questioned whether the stimulus check had to be paid back, the answer was, quite simply, that it did not. It was a tax cut; no tax was charged on it when you filed your taxes the following year, and it had no impact on the amount of return that you received.

Many people are still wondering whether or not the tax rebate program worked, or if it was able to generate spending by consumers. There is some debate on the issue but most economists seem to think that it did not.