Tax Deadline Passes With Smiles

Alabama Mobile Some last minute filers found something to be happy about.

by Steve Alexander

Published: Wed, April 15, 2009 - 9:25 pm CST Last Updated: Wed, April 15, 2009 - 9:41 pm CST

Many people who went to the post office in Bel-Air Mall in Mobile Wednesday night to mail their income tax return found a pleasant surprise: they didn't have to stand in line as in past years.
Gaylon Levins with the U.S. Postal Service said, "One of the things we did different this year is we set up a table where we could pull people out that already had their postage."
If you had a stamp on your tax return, you didn't have to wait in line.
Reactions from customers included comments like, "That's great," and "Awesome."
Something else may have been different about this tax season, too.
One tax preparer said this year's season was slower than those in the past.
Ray Parker with Liberty Tax Service said, until this week, he hadn't seen as many customers as in recent years.
But he expects more people than usual coming in after the filing deadline this year.
Parker said, "I think the economy is probably the main driver because that's the big thing that changed recently, so I think people are trying to hold back and not commit to paying those tax dollars any sooner than they need to do."
Some pawn shops around the country said they've seen people pawn possessions to pay their tax bill.
The managers at Earl's Pawn Shop in Mobile said they haven't seen that, but that tax season has been busy for another reason.
Patrick Chastang said, "Most of our tax stuff was at the beginning of the year when the taxes first kicked off. A lot of our customers do the rapid refund. We do one percent check cashing for anything under $5,000 and anything over $5,000 is two percent."
People who owe the Federal Government money, did not meet the tax deadline and didn't file for an extension could face penalties.

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