Tax day brings shorter lines
The post office remained open from 8 a.m. to midnight and scheduled additional staff.
Published April 18, 2006
Sophomore Ryan O'Neil plans on filing his taxes in a northern suburb of Chicago but still had to go to the post office at 10:30 p.m. Monday to file for an extension.
"I forgot to sign the form when I was home for spring break, so I have to file an extension so I can get them done in six months," O'Neil said. "I expected it to be a lot more crowded because back at home there are never-ending lines until midnight on tax day, but I guess that is because Columbia is a smaller town."
Although this is his first year working for the post office, Steve Beck, a Columbia post office customer service supervisor, said he thinks there has been a decrease in the number of people filing on April 15 in the past couple of years.
"I'm speculating that with software and the Internet the process is more spread out," Beck said. "We are seeing returns throughout February, March and April instead of a one- to two-week crunch period."
The post office remained open from 8 a.m. to midnight and scheduled additional staff to handle the rush of people waiting until the last day, Beck said.
"I think the amount of people flooding into the post office today is down at this location," Beck said. "We have not had excessive lines, but there has been a steadier flow than a usual Monday."
Post office employee Mike Paulsen said he came into the post office during the afternoon and was one of the workers staying until midnight.
"The spurts were not nearly as bad as last year, but we have had a steady stream of people all day long," Paulsen said. "Mondays are usually busy anyways."
Outside the post office, members of Mid-Missouri Peaceworks passed out orange flyers that said tax dollars were going toward supporting the U.S. military industrial complex, Peaceworks Director Mark Haim said. The group has been passing out flyers on tax day since the mid-'80s.
"It's an educable moment because people are thinking about their taxes while they are turning them in," Haim said. "People need to be considering that when they are writing a check to the government. They should be thinking about if their elected officials are representing them."
Columbia resident Ruth Schaefer said she thinks people have responded much better to the fliers this year than in past years because people used to be more adamant and even violent in refusing to accept the pamphlets.
Haim agreed.
"We see a cross section of people when we are down here, and we are seeing that there are more people opposed to what the government is doing," Haim said. "There has been a shift in public opinion polls, but we've even noticed the change too."