Disconnected links, filing day edition
If you haven’t filed your Oklahoma tax return, don’t despair. State tax returns can be filed electronically until Monday. Also, if you make your payment electronically, that can be made in a timely manner until Monday.
A list of Oklahoma Free File Alliance companies that most taxpayers can use for free is available at the Oklahoma Tax Commission’s Web site.
If you haven’t filed your federal income tax form yet, here’s the form to get an automatic extension. Best of all, you can fill it out online. Just remember, an extension to file is not an extension of time to pay.
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A new report shows that the audit rate for corporations with $250 million or more in assets has dropped to its lowest point in the last 20 years. The report, based on data obtained by Transactional Records Action Clearinghouse from the Internal Revenue Service under the Freedom of Information Act, shows the IRS has shifted audit resources from larger to smaller corporations. In an unprecedented action, the IRS also is seeking a court order to bar future access to agency statistics that are essential for this report.
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Another reason to file early — to avoid getting scammed by someone else filing your return.
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Consumers advocates remind you to stay away from high-interest refund-anticipation loans. A “mystery shopper” operation found that some tax preparers don’t even reveal that such transactions are loans.
The test results showed that some preparers still do not inform taxpayers that a RAL is a loan, despite years of complaints and lawsuits on that issue. Even when testers were told that a RAL is a loan, many preparers did not give clear price information about RALs, RACs, and tax preparation fees. Only one preparer in either city informed the tester how to receive a fast, free refund by e-file and direct deposit. A few testers were given RALs or RACs by default, while others were automatically required to pay charges for RACs for state refunds.
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Don Mecoy
Business Writer
One week and counting
Fast Company magazine has compiled some interesting stats about tax season in an informational graphic. Among the factoids:
- –More than $2.5 trillion was collected in U.S. taxes in fiscal 2006, the most recent year with full tax data available (nearly half came from individual income taxes).
- –More than 140 million federal income-tax returns were filed last year, and 80 million were filed electronically
- –On tax day, the U.S. postal service hotline gets about 500,000 calls, 3.5
times normal volume - –13,000 tax filers were randomly selected for audits in 2007
- –The U.S. has the 4th lowest tax burden of the 30 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.
- –Sweden pays the most – 51.1 percent and Mexico pays the least -19.3 percent.
- –The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans earn 21 percent of total national income but pay 39 percent of taxes.
- –The average tax refund in 2007 was $2,255 (2.5 percent more than in 2006).
- –The government estimates that each year, the IRS fails to collect about $345 billion.
- –About 10 percent of Americans wait until the last day of tax season to file or request an extension.
Elsewhere, the IRS Web site has collected some quotes about taxes, such as Will Rogers’ “Income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf.”
Oklahoma’s Northern Federal District, based in Tulsa, is among the top in the nation in obtaining convictions based on referrals from the Internal Revenue Service, according to an analysis by Tax Analysts and the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse .
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Many happy returns
It’s not A-Rod money, but the Clintons have done surprisingly well with their speaking and writing careers.
An excerpt:
2000-2007 TAX RETURN SUMMARY
HILLARY & BILL CLINTON
TAXES PAID: $33,783,507
The Clintons paid $33,783,507 in federal taxes – 31% of their adjusted gross income. According to the most recent data available from the IRS, in 2005 taxpayers earning $10,000,000 or more paid on average 20.8% of their adjusted gross income in taxes.
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS: $10,256,741
The Clintons donated $10,256,741 to charity – 9.5% of their adjusted gross income. According to the most recent data available from the IRS, in 2005 taxpayers earning $10,000,000 or more contributed 3.1% of their adjusted gross income in cash contributions to charity. Information about the Clinton Family Foundation, including a list of charities to which the Clintons contributed through the Foundation, is available online in the Foundation’s publicly available tax returns (www.foundationcenter.org).
AFTER TAX EARNINGS: $57,157,297
CUMULATIVE TOTAL(GROSS) INCOME: $109,175,175
Click the link above for more details.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
Extra credit
I wrote a story recently aimed at reminding taxpayers not to forget about several federal tax credits that can lower one’s IRS bill.
My friend and former colleague Greg Elwell over at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation called soon after the story appeared to remind me of a tax credit available to Oklahomans. Essentially, any donation to the OMRF up to $2,000 is eligible for a tax credit of up to half the amount of the donation. For instance, a $100 donation would qualify the donor for a $50 state tax credit. Tax credits directly offset the amount of tax you owe.
For more information, check out the OMRF faq page. For other questions regarding state income taxes, try the Oklahoma Tax Commission. On the federal side, the IRS Web site is a great place to start.
Meanwhile, check out Greg’s fascinating story from OMRF’s Findings magazine titled “The Strange Case of Tom Little” about a man who didn’t swallow for more than 60 years.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
