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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune UTAH/NATION Friday, December 4, 1998 A21 IRS Wants to Boost Electronic Filings Lake Bunn Agency taking credit cards, issuing PINs to boost use of computers, telephones THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON— Buried by mountains of paper the Internal Revenue Service announced an ambi- tious goalof having 80 percent oftaxpayersfile their income-tax returnselectronically by 2007. Severalsteps towardthat goal, ranging from pay- ment bycredit cardsto use f personal identification numbers (PINs) in placeof signatures, will be available ona limited basis in 1999. But officials say far more must be doneto increasefiling by telephone and computer. “Themajority of returns todayarestill filed on paper,” IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti told an advisory panel onelectronictax filing Thursday “Most of what we haveto do lies ahead of us.” The IRS is ‘g electronic filing becauseit re- duces errors, is processing time and provides better security for private information. For thetaxpayer, refundscan arrivein halfthetime compared with paper. About 20 percent of taxpayers, or 24.6 million, filed electronically this year. That amounts to a 28.4 percent increaseoverlast year, but IRSofficials fear progress might slow without technological improve- ments and productsthat have broader public appeal For example, the requirementthat tax sign returnsin ink meansthat manypeople who use com: puter programsto dotheir taxes simply print them outand mailthemin. OneinterimIRSgoalis to have all returns preparedthis wayfiled electronicallyby 200 2001 The IRSis conductingtwopilot projects this year to tackle that issue by using PIN codes to substitute for signatures The agency plansto send 12 million PIN codesto taxpayers who used computer software to prepare their returns last year. In addition, 8,100 paid tax preparershave beenselectedfor a programallowing taxpayers to pick their ownPINcode to “sign” their retui “No paper will cometo us,” said Bob Barr, assis tant IRS commissiorer for electronic taxes. Also newfor 1999 is the first-ever use of credit ‘0 pay taxes. People whouseIntuitInc.'s Turx or MacInTax software can pay using cards issued by Novus — Discoverand Private Issue z the main two. Anyone else filing electron’ Lynsey Addario’ The through a homecomputer or a paid preparer can using Discover, MasterCard and American Express through a toll-free telephone call Besides Intuit, numerous companies are offering tax-preparation software that can transmit returns to IRS. The agency nowhas links to themonits Internet Website; some are offered free to taxpayers with adjusted gross incomesless than $20,000. In addition, Rossotti said taxpayers without personal computers increasingly have access to the Internet at libraries, schools and communitycenters. 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