| How to avert ID theft during tax time
For an identity thief, tax time is prime time. Tax documents filed electronically to the Internal Revenue Service are a gold mine for hackers as they contain Social Security numbers, addresses and financial information. Here are some ID theft-fighting tips from the makers of Identity Finder software: • If downloading your IRS W2 forms, 1099s and other personal tax documents from your employer, create a strong password (one with numbers, letters and punctuation) when registering to download them. • Configure all peer-to-peer file sharing programs to disable the sharing of your personal folders so identity thieves can't download your tax return. • Don't e-mail tax documents to your accountant unless they are encrypted to prevent anyone snooping on your network from gaining access.
Panelists volunteer for a better IRS
If you've been wrestling with your tax forms, you might have a few words for the Internal Revenue Service. Turns out, the IRS wants to hear what you have to say, and has set up a panel of citizen advocates to listen. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel consists of 98 volunteers nationwide, including three in New Jersey, who serve three-year terms, seeking out taxpayers' thoughts and opinions. The IRS invites interested people to apply for the panel at improveirs.org or by calling (888) 912-1227. Applications must be received by April 30. The Record spoke recently with Ben Chapman, 66, of Wayne, a retired accountant who formerly worked with KPMG and Allegheny Corp. and who has been on the panel for about 18 months. Following is an edited transcript: Q. Why did you join the panel? It's a way to give back.
Income Tax: The Root of All Evil
Frank Chodorov was an extraordinary thinker and writer, and hugely influential in the 1950s. This is his American classic that argues that the income tax, more than any other legislative change in American history, made it possible to violate individual rights that were at the core of the founding. He argues that income taxes are different from other forms because they deny the right of private property and presume government control over all things. The introduction is by former IRS commissioner J. Bracken Lee.
91 pages, 6" x 9", paperback .
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