Mnuchin Says Tax Refunds 'Normalized' After Latest Weekly Rise

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said tax refunds have “normalized,” pushing back against complaints that the new tax law is leaving average Americans with smaller refund checks.

It’s the second time within days that Mnuchin sought to explain early data and anecdotal evidence proliferating social media that refunds in the first weeks of the tax filing season are lower. Less wealthy people, whose taxes typically are less complicated and who often are more eager for a refund, tend to file the earliest tax returns.

Responses to Mnuchin’s Twitter post included comments criticizing the U.S. deficit and his former role at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as well as others who said their refund had increased this year.