Maine’s two U.S. senators hope to preserve a savings opportunity for low-income workers who don’t have bank accounts. The legislation would extend a program started in 2010 that lets taxpayers receive any refund on their federal taxes in the form of a U.S. savings bond, a paper bond that lets buyers earn interest on their […]
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Posted inFranklin
Chesterville payments made prior to voter approval
CHESTERVILLE — A special town meeting last week to approve money for IRS penalties related to payroll taxes apparently wasn’t necessary because the payments had already been made, officials said. “Anne Lambert informed us we had already paid the bill,” Selectman Matt Welch said Saturday. “When I said ‘no, we haven’t paid it,’ she showed the warrant […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
House may vote on impeaching IRS chief John Koskinen
WASHINGTON — The House will vote as early as next week on a conservative effort to impeach IRS chief John Koskinen. But congressional GOP leaders still must decide how to avert a federal shutdown and finance federal efforts to contain the Zika virus, even as the approaching elections pressure them to avoid riling voters. After […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Phone scams targeting students with bogus tax
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers about bogus phone calls from IRS impersonators demanding payment for the bogus “Federal Student Tax.” Even though the tax deadline has come and gone, scammers continue to use varied strategies to trick people — in this case, students, the IRS said in a news release. In […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
IRS scams target Franklin County, court scammers hit Maine
Franklin County is being hit hard by scammers claiming to be from the IRS, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office warned Wednesday. Residents have been inundated with phone calls from scammers posing as IRS employees, making statements that residents owe money and if they do not pay, they will be arrested, the Franklin County Sheriff’s office […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
IRS website offers refund status
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday reminded taxpayers they can quickly check the status of their tax return and refund through the “Where’s My Refund?” feature at IRS.gov. Initial information will normally be available within 24 hours after the IRS receives the taxpayer’s e-filed return or four weeks after the taxpayer mails a […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Scam alert: If the IRS calls, it’s not the IRS
NORWAY — The phone rang. Barbara Farrar answered, listened, and hung up. “They said, ‘This is the IRS calling,’” said Farrar, 77, a retired clerical worker who recently lost her husband and is the great-grandmother of 34 (at last count.) “They said, ‘We’re calling because you owe money,’ she said. ‘We need to discuss it […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
State tries new way to tackle tax-return ID theft
The state is taking an extra step to curb identity theft at tax time this year: Mainers will have the new option of listing their driver’s license numbers on their income tax return to help prove they are who they say they are. Providing the information is voluntary. If a tax return is flagged for […]
Posted inBusiness, Lewiston-Auburn
IRS to move Lewiston office to Augusta instead of Lisbon Street
LEWISTON — A plan to relocate the Internal Revenue Service office from Main Street to Lisbon Street is a victim of federal budget cuts, according to building owner Jason Levesque. The office is closing and employees will be relocated to the South Portland or Augusta offices, an IRS spokesman said. Levesque said the Wednesday morning […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Tax-return theft more than doubles in Maine
At the height of this tax season, Maine received 1,600 fraudulent income tax returns from people claiming the identity of someone else. That amounted to hundreds more fake returns in the first half of this year than in all of last year, on pace to double 2014’s number by year’s end. “As we thought, there […]