I keep hearing from people that they heard, second hand, that the proposed $600 (or $1200 for marriage couples) stimulus package to people is a "prebate", and that you will need to pay it back or claim it as taxes in a future year.

While it may have worked that way last time, back in 2001 (or was it 2003?), apparently that is not how it will work this time.

http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Discussion:Rebate_News:_A_Run_on_the_Bank

"In other words, they create a higher -0- percent tax bracket for 2008: "In 2008, taxes would be cut from 10 percent to zero percent on the first $6,000 dollars of taxable income for individual taxpayers and the first $12,000 of taxable income for couples."