You probably don't know it, but you might have between $30 and $60 of tax refund coming
your way. All you have to do is ask for it
on your income tax return.
But millions of Americans aren't doing so.By some estimates, 30
percent of those who could claim the refund have not done so.
The Contra Costa (Calif.) Times reports:"We
are alarmed by [the] high number of taxpayers apparently overlooking this opportunity to get their money back," IRS
spokesman Jesse Weller said. "We want to ensure that everyone who paid this tax get[s] the credit they have coming. We've made it as easy as possible, but you have to request
the refund."
The
government stopped collecting the long-distance excise tax last August following several federal court rulings. To make the refund easier to figure, the government established a standard refund amount
ranging from $30 to $60.
The IRS reports:
What is the telephone tax refund?
The
telephone tax refund is a one-time payment available on your 2006
federal income tax return, designed to refund previously collected
federal excise taxes on long-distance or bundled service. It is
available to anyone who paid such taxes on landline, wireless, or Voice
over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) service.
Why is the government refunding these taxes?
Several
recent federal court decisions have held that the tax does not apply to
long-distance service as it is billed today. The IRS is following these
decisions and refunding the portion of the tax charged on
long-distance calls. The IRS is also refunding taxes collected on
telephone service under plans that do not differentiate between long
distance and local calls including bundled service.
The
telephone tax continues to apply to local-only service, and the IRS is not refunding taxes charged on
local-only service.
The
IRS will refund the taxes paid on long-distance or bundled service
billed to taxpayers for the period after Feb. 28, 2003, and before Aug.
1, 2006. Taxpayers should request this refund when they file their 2006
tax returns.
Who is eligible to request the telephone
tax refund?
In
general, any individual, business or nonprofit organization that paid
the tax for long distance or bundled service billed after Feb. 28,
2003, and before Aug. 1, 2006, is eligible to request the refund.
Of
course, while many of the folks who deserve the refund are not asking for it, some others are trying to scam their way into getting money the government does not owe them.
The Internal Revenue Service says faking refund claims is
one of the top scams of this tax return season.
The
Wall Street Journal reports:If you want to claim
more than the $30 to $60, you can figure the
refund out for yourself and file paperwork,
but according to a
report, on the IRS's Web site,
many have been asking for too much. "Some individuals
are making requests for thousands of dollars, indicating
that they had phone bills topping
$100,000 -- an amount exceeding their
income."
In the
Journal, Tom
Herman
quotes IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson, who says that the IRS has seen "some clear
abuse," and that anyone looking for an inflated amount "will likely see their refund frozen."
Jobs for Inmates
It is far from a trend, but it is
interesting
to me that in various
parts of the country, elected officials
are talking about how to get inmates
to do more work that benefits society.
Colorado is trying
to place inmates with farmers who can't find workers because
of new immigration
laws.
The Denver Post reports:Colorado prison
inmates may soon help the state's farmers
plant onions and pick
melons under a program being developed by
corrections officials
and lawmakers.
The
project is aimed at helping strapped farmers deal with a shortage of farm
laborers caused by a crackdown on illegal immigration.
"When
you have a crop sitting in the field and you have no one to harvest it, you'll try anything," said Pueblo County farmer Phil Prutch. "I'm willing to try it."
Prutch,
who grows tomatoes, peppers, corn and squash, said tougher immigration laws passed by the legislature last year chased away
most of his reliable help from Mexico and other countries.
State
legislators and Department of Corrections Executive Director Ari Zavaras are developing the program. Zavaras said it will take time to work out details, but officials hope to launch the
program on a limited basis before the summer growing season.
"We
don't see any legal obstacle to having prisoners work on the
farms," said Zavaras. The prisoners can plant crops and, in the fall, pick vegetables, he said.
The Oakland
(Calif.) Tribune says
the mayor there is proposing that the city set aside some jobs for ex-cons, in hopes local businesses will follow its lead. He also says the city
should not force job applicants to disclose their criminal history unless they are
applying for a job with the police or for a position that might put them in contact with children.
Distracted Teen Drivers
The
Detroit Free Press tells the story of a local kid who died in a traffic
accident. He was in the back seat of a car goofing around with friends on a
joyride. The story points to the number of kids nationwide who die in
"distracted driver" crashes.The
Free Press story says:
Traffic experts say new data increasingly raises alarms about young drivers and distractions. Last year, fatal crashes
involving Michigan drivers ages 16-24 rose to 355
from 349 in 2005, the first increase after five years of declines.
A landmark study released in late January suggests inexperience and a proliferation of distractions, such as cell phones and
passengers, present new, dangerous challenges. One in five teens reports being in at least one crash as a
passenger in the past year, according to the study by
Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Co.Young drivers are more likely to speed, overturn vehicles and hit trees, and less likely to be alone during crashes than any other age
group, according to the
Michigan State Police. They accounted for 15 percent of the state's drivers, but were behind the wheel in 23 percent of crashes in 2005.
A year ago,
I told you about
an interesting project from WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, in which the station planted some cameras in a teenager's car and
watched what happened when kids piled into the car for a joyride. The video
is eye opening.
See it here.
Tired TruckersWCBD-TV,
in Charleston, S.C., investigates why
the number of big truck
crashes involving "fatigued" drivers jumped 75 percent between 2001 and 2005. The
answer, reporter Andy Pierrotti finds, may have something to do with there being too few
rest stops along the interstate. And in most states, it isn't illegal to drive while tired.
The TV station reports:
According to the Associated
Press, 32 bills were introduced
nationwide to
address tired driving
in 2003, but only New
Jersey's state legislature
passed a law.
The U.S. National
Transportation Safety Board blames driver fatigue as a probable factor in
20 to 40 perecent of truck crashes.
Al's Morning MultimediaI had the pleasure this
week to invite
Ellyn Angelotti, the 24-year-old new media sports editor at the
Naples (Fla.) Daily News, to teach with me at Poynter.
Naples'
population jumps from
about 75,000 people in the summer to 200,000 in
the winter.
I have been so impressed with
the
Naples News' treatment of local sports.
Take a look at their PrepZone page. This local sports section was the thing moved the
Naples News into the
multimedia world.
Check out the innovative ways the
Naples News covered a big
golf tournament recently. The site included
highlight
videos, an
interactive
map of the course, tee times, leader boards, fan
photos, tons of
player
profiles and even
downloadable
printable posters. The paper sponsored an "autograph alley" at the
tournament, so when the fans went home with an autographed picture of their
favorite player, the
Naples News logo
was be on the poster.
Each major sport has a
collection of
videos. Whatsmore, every school has its own micro-site. That means if I am
interested in
Barron Collier High, for example, I can find all of their videos on
one page.
Click on
PrepZone Playbook for a sort of ESPN SportsCenter treatment of local
sports.
To get really local on high
school sports, the
Naples News site
includes
360-degree photos of every playing field in the area. The site also features stats on every local player in every area school and makes it easy to compare players from different schools.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
