Stop. Never mind, carry on!

Wait — no, ignore that. That’s the approach the IRS took on Feb. 3 in when it initially told 75 million Americans to sit tight and wait for further instructions before filing a federal tax return.

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At issue was whether the nation’s tax collector would treat as income subject to federal taxes the rebates and refunds sent by more than a dozen states to residents last year.

One week later, in the middle of the annual filing season, the nation’s tax collector reversed course.

Read more: IRS, in flip-flop, tells 75 million taxpayers to go ahead and file