[WEB4LIB] Re: Patrons Filing Taxes Via Web on Public PCs

[Donna Schumann]

On Wed, 10 Feb 1999, Julie Castelluzzo wrote:

> Unless you plan on installing tax preparation software, I don't think it
> is possible. As far as I know, an individual cannot file tax forms
> electronically unless using a paid preparer or a tax software package.

That's what we thought, however this is not true anymore. On the IRS's web
page, they have several listings of web sites where you can do your taxes
without having tax preparation software installed locally. AND on
Quicken's web page, they let people with incomes less than $20,000 submit
their taxes on the web at no charge. One of our patrons pointed this out
to us. Groan.

> If you do install tax software, it would probably be difficult to clear
> out all of the entries in between each use.

No way were we going to do this!! I was so happy when I thought that we
could avoid the issue by just not installing tax preparation software.
Those were the good old days...


> 
> Julie
> 
> Julie Castelluzzo          juliec at cooper.edu
> Electronic Services Librarian
> The Cooper Union Library   www.cooper.edu/facilities/library/library.html
> 
> On Wed, 10 Feb 1999, Donna Schumann wrote:
> 
> > 
> > We are getting many inquiries from patrons who want to use the library PCs
> > to file taxes through the web. We are interested in finding out how other
> > public libraries are handling this. Specifically, what, if anything, do
> > you tell patrons about the risks of using public PCs for this? We are
> > concerned about cookies, and even using the "Back" button to see previous
> > screens with private information. 
> > 
> > Thanks in advance. 
> > 
> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> > Donna Schumann                  Application System Specialist 
> > Timberland Regional Library     360-704-4542 FAX: 360-586-6838 
> > Olympia, Washington             schumann at timberland.lib.wa.us 
> > 
> > 
> 
>