By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Tuesday is the deadline for filing 2002 federal and state tax returns.
The IRS tax van is parked outside City Hall until midnight. Personnel is available to answer questions and accept completed federal and state returns.
Extension forms will be available as well. Taxpayers who can't make the deadline can receive an automatic extension through Auugust, but must pay the taxes they owe.
While it won't help taxpayers struggling to make today's deadline, Congressman Tom Reynolds says provisions of a taxpayer protection bill approved by the House will have an impact in the future.
"This particular legislation sets up reforms of the penalty and interest sections of the IRS code which I thought prior to this were onerous," Reynolds said. "It provides a safeguards against unfair IRS collection procedures, and it increases taxpayers confidentiality."
Other provisions would allow individuals to pay tax bills in installments and extend the electronic filing date to April 30th.
Reynolds said the taxpayer protection package is now before the Senate, awaiting its approval.