The Nation - News from March 28, 1988

Less than a month before the filing deadline, fewer than half of Americans have finished their tax returns. But refunds are bigger and the Internal Revenue Service is doing a better job answering questions. The IRS said it is almost 3% behind last year’s pace in processing returns, blaming taxpayers’ slowness in filing. Through March 18, 47.6 million returns had been received, and less than 35 million had been processed. More than seven of every 10 returns are qualifying for refunds--an average of $809 apiece, up slightly from 1987. About 44% of the 107 million expected individual returns have been filed. The IRS said that its accuracy rate in answering taxpayers’ questions is up to nearly 78% (from 74.8% earlier in the year) as telephone helpers become more familiar with the new tax code.