For Faster Refunds Choose e-file!

Contact: Terry Stanton (517) 335-1356

April 7, 2003

With April 15^th just more than a week away, State Treasurer Jay B. Rising is encouraging Michigan taxpayers to file their 2002 tax returns electronically. E-filing is efficient, safe, and a great way to get your refund faster! E-file is available through most tax preparers or you can do it right from your own personal computer, with the appropriate software. New this year, qualifying Michigan taxpayers can e-file for free. The Department of Treasury has entered into partnership agreements with two software developers, to offer free e-filing. Links to the companies' Web sites can be accessed through www.mifastfile.org. It is important to note that the Department of Treasury does not endorse either company or its products and taxpayers must meet certain income requirements to qualify. "The popularity of e-filing has grown every year," said State Treasurer Jay B. Rising. "Not only does e-filing get refunds back to the taxpayer much quicker than paper returns, filing electronically reduces paperwork and helps eliminate mathematical and other errors in the processing of returns."

Michigan has historically had one of the highest e-file rates in the country, with more than one-point-three million individual income tax returns filed electronically last year. For more information about e-filing, go to the Michigan Department of Treasury Web site at www.mifastfile.org or visit a local tax preparer.