THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150274
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
For about 400,000 Virginians, filling out tax forms may be a little less painful this year.
The Department of Taxation announced Monday that it has changed filing requirements to allow more people to use Form 760S, otherwise known as the ``short form.'' The one-sided 760S has just 16 lines and large entry boxes compared with 52 lines on the longer 760 form.
Those who can now use the short form include taxpayers filing a separate form from their spouse, said department spokeswoman Dianne Lee. Taxpayers with income other than salaries, wages, dividends or interest will also be able to use the shorter form, she said.
Tax commissioner Danny M. Payne said the change will benefit both citizens and the state.
``In addition to reducing the filing burden of many Virginians, the Commonwealth itself will benefit through savings in printing, mailing and data entry requirements,'' Payne said. ``The environment will also benefit by the elimination of more than nine million pages of printed instructions.''
Department staff analyzed tax returns to identify taxpayers now using the longer form who could lighten their filing burden by using the shorter form, Lee said.
``This is an ongoing project to make things easier and faster for the taxpayers,'' she said.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA STATE INCOME TAX by CNB