Computers, phones take a bigger role in tax payments; IRS will let individuals use special 'answer sheets,' test so-called 'TeleFile.' (U.S. Internal Revenue Service computer-generated income tax files)
Article Abstract:
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), starting in 1991, will allow taxpayers to file income tax returns using new computer-generated 'answer sheets.' The IRS also plans an experiment to test using touch-tone telephones to file returns. The answer sheets, which are designed to be simple and easy to use, will work with IRS-approved computer programs. The IRS has discovered that computer-generated returns tend to have less mistakes in them, and taxpayers benefit because computerized returns are processed more quickly. According to IRS Commissioner Fred Goldberg, people are more likely to comply with government rules if the government is easier to deal with. Software companies that specialize in tax software are optimistic, foreseeing an expansion of their business. The IRS's plan for touch-tone telephones, called TeleFile, will be tested in Ohio. Taxpayer will file by calling a tool-free number and punching in numbers on their phones. An IRS computer uses the data to figure what is owed, and the taxpayer is immediately told.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1991
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Taxing business: will computers lead the chase?
Article Abstract:
The General Accounting Office is due to release a report stating that the Internal Revenue Service could collect an additional $1 billion dollars in unpaid taxes by 1995 if the agency used computers to check that corporations were paying the correct tax. The proposed system, already used to check individual tax returns, would be operated at a cost of $70 million a year. The proposed program would be directed at small businesses, with assets less than $10 million, who make up 80 percent of American corporations. Such small companies reported only 61 percent of their taxes in 1987, down from 81 percent in 1980.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1991
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
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