We Made a Mistake, Tax Man Admits (More or Less)

--For a while, Arkansas residents may have thought the tax collector was giving them a break. But it turns out that the new state tax forms that appear to entitle most residents to a 100% refund are in error. The mistake is at line 50 on the form, when taxpayers subtract tax credits from the amount of tax liability, to determine the amount of tax owed. The form says to enter zero if line 49 is LESS than Line 44. It should have said MORE. “We’re all human. Mistakes do happen,” David Foster, deputy revenue commissioner, said. Commissioner Jim Pledger said the more than 800,000 forms will not be recalled. However, the state will notify accountants and tax preparers of the mistake, and will run announcements on TV to let taxpayers know about the error.

--Meanwhile, Fort Collins, Colo., officials faced another taxing situation. The city has reversed its decision to collect a nickel sales tax on each box of Girl Scout cookies sold this year. A 1968 city law requires nonprofit groups to collect sales tax during fund raising, but the law had never been enforced because of a lack of staff. Late last year the city announced plans to begin enforcing the law because of falling revenues. But council members changed their minds after a storm of protest. “There’s nobody on the council that really wants to stick it to the Girl Scout cookie sales,” Mayor Larry Estrada said.

--Linda Fredin started out the year the same way she has three times, starting in 1984. She won the Springfield, Minn., newspaper’s contest for giving birth to the town’s first baby of the new year. “It’s fun because it’s a small community and a lot of people know about it and when you go out downtown, a lot of people congratulate you,” said Fredin, 28. The southwestern Minnesota town has 2,500 residents. The Fredins’ latest victory came at 12:49 p.m. on New Year’s Day, when Mason Marlin Fredin arrived. They took 1984 honors with Maggie Joyce Fredin on Jan. 2. In 1985, Mitchell Dean Fredin won with a Jan. 8 birth date. The Fredins’ first child was the only one not to win. Matthew Curtis was born Jan. 25, 1983, two weeks past his due date. The family will receive savings certificates from two banks, some butter from the local creamery and a few free dinners, worth about $300 in all, said Advance-Press Editor Doris Weber.