STORY:
IRS opens web site for Y2K taxpayer alerts

The Internal Revenue Service is now posting "special taxpayer alerts" on its Web site to describe errors and other problems as well as Y2K problem notifications. "We know that even a little glitch in an IRS system can affect many thousands of taxpayers," says IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti. "They need to be alerted to the problem and what we're doing to fix it."

The page -- located in the "What's Hot" section at www. irs.ustreas.gov -- is part of an IRS effort to ensure its just-completed overhaul of most key computers to comply with year 2000 does not cause undue hardship for taxpayers.

The IRS has spent 18 months rewriting an estimated 50 million lines of code to be ready for 2000, when some computers could go haywire if they mistakenly read the last two "00" digits as 1900. Examples of possible errors include huge tax notices, refund delays, mistakes in IRS publications, or failure to properly credit taxpayer accounts. The Web site will enable the IRS to let people know if their particular problem has wider implications and what do to about it.

"We're in excellent shape for this tax filing season, but we all know that glitches can occur in a system as large and as old as the IRS'," Rossotti said in a press statement.

DATE: 1/12/99

For more E2000 stories, click here:
news | events | Y2K | today's news

Marketplace
Books
Collectibles
Celebration Supplies
General Merchandise
Travel Packages