The IRS apparently has not finished its Y2K work yet:

http://www.dallasnews.com/national/0803nat2irs.htm

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 09, 1999

Answers

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

IRS expects problems if tax-cut plan passes

08/03/99

Newsday

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has warned Congress that details in the proposed $792 billion tax cut would delay processing at least 25 million tax returns, make it more difficult for the agency to address the Y2K computer problem and add millions to the cost of the annual tax collection.

The House and the Senate have approved different tax plans for the next decade, and conferees began meeting Monday night to find a compromise. The negotiators also tried to address provisions that IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti has warned will make tax rules and forms more complicated.

Congressional Republicans are eager to seize the tax-cut issue as they prepare for next year's elections, and committee staffers dismissed the problems Mr. Rossotti raised.

"The IRS has been faced with challenges in the past, and we're confident these problems won't prove insurmountable," one House staff member said.

Mr. Rossotti has targeted as the most troublesome two of the most popular features: the capital gains proposals in the House bill and the axing of the marriage penalty in the Senate bill.

The House voted to cut capital gains taxes, effective July 1, from 10 percent, 20 percent and 25 percent to 7.5 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Congressional staffers estimate that two- thirds of the taxpayers affected by the change have incomes of less than $75,000.

The Senate proposed to eliminate the marriage penalty. Some married couples pay higher taxes than if they file individual returns, but the Senate bill would allow couples to file as individuals or couples, depending on which tax is less.

Mr. Rossotti fears that both bills would increase taxpayer error and require the agency to increase its training.

The major effect, the IRS concluded, would be a delay in processing returns and issuing refunds. "In addition, since about 25 million returns would not be processed until late in the filing season, during the peak period, this might delay processing of some other returns," according to the review.

The agency's effort to fix its antiquated computers to read more than two digits and distinguish between 1900 and 2000 may also be slowed. IRS officials hope to install new software for next year's tax season by Aug. 1, and have all systems locked in place by Oct. 1 "in order to allow for final end-to-end testing of IRS systems."

The review is a byproduct of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, requiring IRS assessment of the complexity of any tax proposals. It was included in the final report distributed to members of the House and Senate before they voted on the bills.

Distributed by Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service

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-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 09, 1999.

The agency's effort to fix its antiquated computers to read more than two digits and distinguish between 1900 and 2000 may also be slowed. IRS officials hope to install new software for next year's tax season by Aug. 1, and have all systems locked in place by Oct. 1 "in order to allow for final end-to-end testing of IRS systems."

Another attempt to pre-qualify scapegoats. Last week it was hackers.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), August 09, 1999.

Let the BLAME GAMES begin!!

Someone should establish a web site devoted entirely to EXCUSES on the part of government and corporations with regard to y2k.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), August 09, 1999.

"Another attempt to pre-qualify scapegoats." I love it! That's what Komradskinen is, the world's pre-eminent pre-qualified scapegoat.

Let's see, who are the goats-elect?

1. Third-world government officials

2. Terrorists

3. American Hoarders (Especially those from Paducah, KY, who are also wasting important bureaucratic attention with that plutonium garbage.)

4. American Taxpayers

5. Americans With Actual Savings

6. Mayors of American Towns with populations under 50,000

7. Americans On Long Term Medication

Who is doing everything possible to "avoid disruption"?

1. The US Federal government 2. State Governments 3. The IRS 4. The World's Richest 1000 Corporations 5. Lou Gerstner, CEO of IBM

Feel free to expand on these lists.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), August 09, 1999.

Over and over and over and over.. Gov't agencies say they are ready but....

-- citizen (lost@sea.com), August 09, 1999.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

Folks on meds as scapegoats? How does that work?

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage.neener.autospammers--regrets.greenspun), August 10, 1999.