Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 29, 1993 TAG: 9312290077 SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Just in time to dampen holiday joy, IRS Commissioner Margaret Richardson launched tax season Tuesday with a cheerful preview of "what is new and exciting" in taxland.
What's new: higher income tax rates, thanks to President Clinton's tax-and-deficit-reduction package - but the higher rates will hit only 2 percent of Americans, Richardson said. For most taxpayers, the rates are unchanged.
What's exciting: tax forms in Spanish. ( Saludos, es tiempo para pagar! - Greetings, it's time to pay!) For now, this is a test program, with Spanish forms available only in south Florida and southern California.
Also new: more ways to file your income taxes. A telephone-filing system will be available in seven states (Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia) for taxpayers who use form 1040EZ.
More new stuff: the $1 checkoff for presidential elections has been boosted to a $3 checkoff. Also, married couples without children can use form 1040EZ if they earn less than $50,000 a year.
The IRS estimates that 117 million Americans will file 1993 federal income returns - and another 7.5 million should, but won't.
by CNB