As deadline nears, more than 5M returns expected
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
Millions of taxpayers face a midnight deadline today to file their tax returns, while millions of others will ask for more time – a six-month extension. There was a three-day delay beyond the traditional April 15 deadline because Friday was a legal holiday in the District of Columbia.
Some things to know about taxes:
EMANCIPATION DAY
The traditional April 15 filing deadline was extended because of Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the nation’s capital. The holiday commemorates President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862.
The Friday holiday moves the tax deadline to the next business day.
When the federal deadline is moved back, state and local deadlines also move back to match it.
150 MILLION TAX RETURNS
The IRS expects millions of tax returns to be filed each day as the tax deadline approaches, with more than 5 million returns possible today. More than 150 million tax returns are expected to be filed in 2016. As of April 8, almost 82 million refunds have been issued, the IRS said. The average refund amount was $2,798.
CONGRESS TARGETS IRS
The IRS is a favorite target of lawmakers from both parties who complain about the complexity of the tax code and accompanying regulations that span more than 70,000 pages. Instructions to complete IRS Form 1040 – the main individual income-tax return – run more than 100 pages.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says the House will vote this week on a half-dozen bills to hold the IRS more accountable.
IMPEACH IRS COMMISSIONER?
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has moved to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, but a full vote has not been taken in the House.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,stopped short of backing impeachment.
CYBERSECURITY
Ryan and other Republicans also criticize the IRS for failing to secure sensitive taxpayer data. They cite an inspector general’s report that identifies “significant security weaknesses that could affect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of financial and sensitive taxpayer data.”
Koskinen told a House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee last week that securing taxpayer data continues to be a top priority. The IRS withstands more than 1 million malicious attempts to access its data each day, Koskinen said, and is stepping up efforts to combat identity theft.
Even so, the problem is growing. What used to be limited to individuals filing a few dozen or a few hundred false tax returns now is often the work of organized crime syndicates in the U.S. and other countries, Koskinen said.