April 7th, 2008
Biggest reason to go green, for me, is that you get your refund much faster.
This is from the governor’s office. I guess all the other problems in the state have been solved.
Illinois Department of Revenue says filing electronically saves paper, increases processing efficiencies
CHICAGO – In the final weeks of tax season, Governor Blagojevich encourages Illinois taxpayers to Go Green and file their taxes electronically. When taxpayers file their taxes electronically, the Department of Revenue sees a reduction in paper use throughout the tax process; from the printing of fewer tax booklets to receiving fewer forms in the mail from taxpayers. By saving paper, taxpayers help reduce the amount of trash going into landfills, and also reduce energy use and pollution associated with manufacturing, transporting, and recycling new paper products.
To help illustrate this point, if the 2.7 million electronic IL-1040s that the department received last year were paper IL-1040s stacked one on top of each other, they would reach a height of over 369 feet or ¼ of the height of the Empire State Building. Additionally, if these electronic IL-1040s were paper IL-1040s and put end to end they would start at Springfield, Illinois and end up just outside of San Diego, California.
“Most Illinoisans aren’t necessarily thinking about the environment when they file their taxes,” said Governor Blagojevich. “Every year more Illinoisans file electronically because it is faster and easier. But today we encourage Illinoisans, as they consider their deductions, to Go Green and file electronically.”
In Springfield, Department of Revenue Director Hamer took reporters on a tour of the Willard Ice Building to illustrate how much paper was saved when Illinois taxpayers chose e-filing. Director Hamer highlighted the Department’s paper and mail handling operations which takes in millions of tax forms each year. The Department also sent out about 1.9 million tax booklets to Illinoisans this year, down from past years because more and more filers are filing electronically.
The Illinois Department of Revenue projects that for the first time ever, more filers will chose to file electronically than file by paper. In addition to making the filing process faster and more convenient for taxpayers, the E-filing option provides a significant cost savings to the state. Since the beginning of the 2008 tax season, electronic filers have saved the state $2.4 million in paper processing costs and postage.
The Department of Revenue has also made strides in electronic filing methods offered to business, which are on track to increase electronic filing by 55.4 percent or around 550,000 returns. Electronic filing programs offered by the department are on target to receive a combined total of 4.8 million returns and applications this fiscal year. Beginning in fiscal year 2008, electronic filing offerings were expanded to include additional excise tax applications.
The Illinois Department of Revenue has enjoyed a consistent increase in electronic filers since the program began in 1991. So far this year, more than 2 million returns have been filed electronically which is a 15 percent increase over this time last year. Over 1.1 million taxpayers have taken advantage of the direct deposit option, an increase of over 19 percent from this time last year. IDOR continues to encourage taxpayers to file electronically on its website tax.illinois.gov or ask about E-Filing when they visit their tax preparer.
“This year we have identified yet another reason Illinois taxpayers should take advantage of filing their Illinois taxes electronically. It cuts down on a mountain of paper,” said Director Hamer. “For those last-minute filers who have yet to file – we encourage you to go green and file electronically.”
“With only two weeks remaining before the tax filing deadline, we’re encouraging taxpayers to e-file their tax returns,” said Otis Damron, IRS Outreach Manager for Illinois. “E-filing offers many benefits including faster refunds, more accurate returns and paperless return filing. For those with adjusted gross incomes of $54,000 or less, free federal tax return preparation and e-filing is available through the IRS Free File program. Free File is available on the IRS Web site at IRS.gov.”
Nearly all Illinois taxpayers can file for free on the department’s web site at www.tax.illinois.gov, and many can also file their federal taxes online at www.irs.gov.
April 7th, 2008
Here’s an op/ed I thought I’d share.
By J. Matt Barber
There’s a shakeup in the cult of neo-Darwinist pseudo-science, and that endearing, monotone high school teacher of “Ferris Bueller” fame is doing the shaking.
With his new feature documentary, “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” (opening in theaters April 18), Ben Stein — actor, economist, presidential speechwriter and all around really smart guy — squares off with some of the world’s most prominent anti-theist elites as he gets to the heart of the question, “Who are we, and how did we get here?”
This is not your father’s documentary. “Expelled” rocks the house both literally and figuratively. It’s gripping, music-packed, comically wry and always entertaining. But its entertainment value is yet surpassed by its educational merit. Throughout the film, Stein boldly shines a light of honest inquiry, revealing time and again that Evolution’s Emperor has no clothes. In his trademark deadpan fashion, Stein skillfully debunks the dogmatic neo-Darwinist programming we’ve all had relentlessly rammed down our throats ever since “Big Science” went bananas over that cute little Scopes Monkey.
Unlike Michael Moore’s anti-Bush propaganda flick “Fahrenheit 911” — which sold us a lemon with deceptive editing techniques and staged confrontations — “Expelled” is intellectually honest, cerebrally stimulating and delectably provocative.
Nonetheless, there are those who won’t like it, not one little bit.
Enter Richard Dawkins. Dawkins, a prominent evolutionist, outspoken atheist and the best-selling author of “The God Delusion,” is featured throughout the film. In one segment, he sits down with Stein for a heart-to-heart. After dancing around several pointed questions about how life began, Dawkins finds himself at a logical impasse with no surplus of sci-fi rhetoric. He’s finally forced to concede that, indeed, an intelligent being may have created life on earth. However, that being could not have been “God,” but rather, it must have been some organic, alien life form. Of course, that alien life form has to have been a product of “Darwinian evolution.”
Through tears of wild laughter, audience members watch as Dawkins — apparently grasping the dizzying nature of his own circular argument — turns three shades of red and becomes purply tight-lipped.
Dawkins? … Dawkins? …
But apart from space aliens, the general consensus among the evolutionary scientists interviewed was that all life, including human life, likely began when lightening struck a mud puddle (you know, like Frankenstein but without all the prefab body parts). This was then followed by a series of unexplainable, unprovable and totally random events that occurred over umpteen million years, eventually resulting in … you.
Although “Expelled” indirectly makes a strong case for the scientific theory of intelligent design, its primary message drives home the need for academic freedom, intellectual honesty and open debate on all scientific fronts.
As the movie masterfully illustrates, we live in a cultural climate where secular elitists in academia, the media and the courts chew up and spit out anyone who dares to question the gospel according to Charles Darwin. They’re absolutely terrified to follow the scientific evidence wherever it may lead.
They don’t want to upset the morally relative applecart, which is loosely held together by the notion that we’re all just a bunch of monkeys with an instinctive, biological excuse for all our behavioral choices. To them, life’s a whole lot easier under the theory of evolution. Without a sovereign Creator to answer to, we get to scoot along and party hearty, free from accountability.
Consequently, it’s no wonder “Expelled” has Darwin’s disciples scurrying for the shadows. Those secular humanist one-trick-ponies in the media, throughout academia, on the blogosphere and elsewhere are in full damage control. They’re doing everything possible to discredit the film before it even opens. It’s even been reported that two major networks are refusing to cover the movie. (Gotta love that journalistic objectivity.)
So, if you happen to be one of those evolutionary fundamentalists who were “randomly selected” to evolve with a built-in blindfold and earplugs, and you’re comfy with your very limited worldview, be afraid of this film — be very afraid. However, if you’re willing to have your eyes opened and are interested in looking at all the evidence, then suck it up, wipe away that Darwinian Kool-Aid mustache and hang out with Ben Stein for a night. What do you have to lose?
For everyone else, “Expelled” is a must-see. If you’re already a person of faith, prepare to have your faith strengthened. And even if you’re not, you can’t possibly walk away without at least admitting that the debate over who we are and how we got here is far from over.
So hold on to your hat. “Expelled” is nothing short of earthshaking. And, as the scientific community clearly recognizes, its tremors may be felt for some years to come.
Matt Barber is one of the “like-minded men” with Concerned Women for America. He is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law and serves as CWA’s policy director for cultural issues.
