Effects of the Shutdown

The federal government shut down as of midnight on Friday. If the shutdown persists for any length of time, there are a couple of key financial decisions that may be affected. They include:

• Tax refunds may be slow in coming. During the shutdown in 2013, which lasted 16 days, more than 90 percent of IRS workers were furloughed, which resulted in delaying some $2.2 billion in refunds to individual taxpayers.
  
• A key report on fourth-quarter gross domestic product, scheduled for Friday, could be delayed. A shutdown causes statistic-keeping agencies to furlough most of their workers, stop collecting economic data and leave their work unfinished.