February 8, 2012

Tax problems? Some IRS offices open today

The Internal Revenue Service will open a few offices on Saturday, May 15 to help small businesses and individuals solve tax problems. Open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Greenville, Columbia and Charleston, IRS staff will be available on site or by telephone to help taxpayers who may not have the time to go during the work week.

Mark Hanson, IRS spokesperson:

An example of taxpayers who may want to come in for this assistance would be taxpayers who owe the IRS but can’t afford to pay the full amount. They can come in and get help from IRS employees who can help them set up an alternative payment arrangement like an installment agreement. This allows the taxpayer to meet their federal income tax liability without putting excessive financial hardship on them.

Hanson says that the IRS scheduled these open houses a few weeks ago because many people working during the week don’t necessarily have the time to get to an IRS office during their normal business hours.

Hanson says the website is available 24/7.

Keep in mind that the www.IRS.gov website is a wealth of information. There’s a lot of self-help services there, like the where’s my refund tool, and the with-holding calculator where taxpayers may be able to find the information they need in the most efficient way possible. 

Hanson asks taxpayers to keep in mind that www.IRS.gov  and the IRS You Tube Channels are the only IRS official websites.

Any look-alikes out there could be run by scam artists, and you certainly do not want fall into some of the traps that they set, because you could be setting yourself up to become a victim of identity theft or worse.

First Quality:$1 billion investment leads to Upstate jobs

A $1 billion investment is leading to 1000 jobs in the Upstate. The New York based company, First Quality Tissue announced Friday that they will open a plant in Anderson, at the former Shaw Plant.

Frank Ludovina,  of First Quality Tissue says:

Among the many factors that attracted us to Anderson County is the skilled pool of workers that you have here, the exceptional work ethic that we’ve seen in South Carolina, and the infrastructure thats been put together to allow us to meet the needs of the expansion that First Quality has planned at this time.

This announcement is welcome in Anderson County, where the jobless rate in March was 12.5 percent. First Quality expects to begin hiring later this year and start operations in 2011.

Palin comes to South Carolina for Haley (AUDIO)

Nikki Haley has received a super-blast of endorsements in her bid for governor, sharing the stage Friday with two nationally-known personalities. Haley was endorsed by former first lady Jenny Sanford in Charleston, then appeared before a crowd of hundreds on the Statehouse steps with Sarah Palin that evening.

In Columbia, Haley said the election matters a lot, and she called for a move to conservatism.  She said now there are Republicans running the state, but that after the election there will be conservatives running it.  Haley said that the tea party movment is not dying, but is thriving.

As we campaign across this state, I want you to know I have never seen people so spirited about their government and elected officials so scared.  It’s a beautiful thing.

Palin said her husband, who was not present, also wishes Haley the best and understands her struggle.

He knows what she’s going through, being the underdog, being the fighter, being the winner that she is, ’cause he has witnessed some of her story.  You know we went through the same thing.  You know John McCain carried this great state and you have a lot of right-thinking people in this part of the country. 

(Palin at the Statehouse, Palin intro  MP3  13:00)
Palin at Statehouse- Haley intro

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