FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Rick Clayburgh, Tax Commissioner   701-328-2770
December 27, 2001	Jill Weigel, Supervisor, Individual Income Tax Section, 701-328-3277

Individual Income Tax Forms In The Mail

BISMARCK ---At a time of year when people usually expect to find “post-holiday” sales flyers in their mailbox, over 300,000 North Dakota taxpayers will soon find a North Dakota income tax booklet too, announced Tax Commissioner Rick Clayburgh today.

"In the past, we mailed booklets only to taxpayers who completed their own return," said Commissioner Clayburgh.  Clayburgh added that postcards were sent to the rest of the taxpayers, such as those who utilized the services of tax professionals.

"We wanted to let the taxpayers know that the state individual income tax system went through significant changes this year," said Clayburgh, " so, over the next ten days, booklets are being mailed to all North Dakota taxpayers who filed a 2000 state return."

Legislation enacted during 2001 moved North Dakota income tax away from a percentage of federal tax liability, replacing it with one that is based on a series of tax brackets that range from 2.1% (under $27,050 single, or $45,200 married) to 5.54% (on income over $297,350). This will be a change from the method established in 1981, where taxpayers used a short form method to figure their North Dakota individual income tax liability as a percentage of their federal income tax liability. The new tax booklets provide details on the changes to the state income tax law.

“For the first time in 20 years, taxpayers will be filing new forms as part of a new tax system,” said Clayburgh.

The Tax Department processing equipment uses a computer to minimize the amount of paper handling and speed up the processing. Some of the new tax form features include:

• A unique identifying bar code in the upper-right corner of the tax return
• Boxes to guide handwritten entries and improve the readability of those entries.
• Special green ink designed to “drop out”, or disappear, when the return is scanned into the computer system, leaving only the taxpayer-entered data.

“Taxpayers who are expecting a refund will appreciate the fast turn-around,” said Commissioner Clayburgh.

Tax booklets are available in banks, post offices, tax practitioners, and libraries or they can be downloaded from the Tax Department’s web site at www.nd.gov/tax. Clayburgh encourages taxpayers to call the Office of State Tax Commissioner at 701-328-3450 if they did not receive a booklet and are unable to locate one.