Over taxed

Deepa Bharath

Patricia Travis looked pretty busy as she stood by a table at the

Fairview Avenue post office Tuesday afternoon, putting stamps on

envelopes.

It was the dreaded “tax day” all right. But the Santa Ana Heights

resident was not one of those last-minute filers. She was just

sending out Easter cards.

“In fact, I just deposited my refund,” said Travis, who was

smiling because she filed her taxes electronically. “So April 15 is

just another day for me.”

More Californians than ever have chosen to file online this year,

state tax officials say. This year, as of Monday, the Franchise Tax

Board received about 8.9-million returns, 40% of which were filed

electronically, said spokesman Patrick Hill from Sacramento.

“Our E-file program has grown dramatically over the years since we

started it in 1994,” he said. “Last year we hit a new mark with

3-million people filing electronically. This year, as of [Monday]

that number is at 3.4 million.”

The Franchise Tax Board usually receives about 14-million returns,

which means about 5-million Californians have waited till the last

minute to file this year.

“That’s not very unusual,” Hill said. “Payments need to be

postmarked by April 15, but people have until Oct. 15 to file the

paperwork. Typically we have several people who wait until Oct. 15 to

file either because they’re procrastinators or because they’re

waiting for papers.”

He said several residents have figured out the benefits of filing

online that include a huge incentive -- speedy refunds.

“Filing electronically puts you in front of the line for a

refund,” Hill said. “You can get it as early as a week to 10 days.

With the paper filing, it could take as long as six weeks.”

But the traditional method is still popular among the majority of

taxpayers, he said.

Trayce Carlyle of Costa Mesa says she prefers “snail mail.”

“I’ve tried E-file in the past,” she said. “But I’m more

comfortable with paper and envelopes. I don’t know why. It just seems

easier.”

Carlyle said this was one of those rare years when she had been

waiting until the last day to file.

“I expected much worse,” she said, looking around at the fairly

crowded post office. “But it’s not too bad.”

Mark Brinton of Costa Mesa looked pretty relaxed as he put the

final touches on his envelopes.

“Oh, I was done way back when,” he said. “I just didn’t mail them

out. Why should I? You pay when you owe.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].