IRS LOOKS TOWARD MAJOR CHANGES

The Internal Revenue Service has taken its lumps in recent months, highlighted in congressional hearings that exposed unsavory activities that did more to harm the nation's taxpayers than to help them. But with the bright light of exposure has come quick and well-intentioned efforts to reform the IRS, whose commissioner, Charles Rossotti, was in front of the Senate Finance Committee last week with a long list of changes that are in the works.

Forgive taxpayers, however, if they are dubious of these efforts which fall under the heading of "IRS reform," which sounds too much like an oxymoron. The hard-fisted actions of the old IRS are still deeply ingrained in the taxpaying conscience, and it will take some hefty demonstrations on the tax agency's part to undo those memories.

Meanwhile, as the height of this year's tax season settles in, local taxpayers are finding it is becoming more and more difficult to get service that involves another human being. The Cape Girardeau IRS office has moved to its new quarters at 137 S. Broadview, but its hours for dealing with the public remains at two days a week, Mondays and Tuesdays.

The IRS office, however, is one of the few locations where taxpayers can go to get forms. The U.S. Post Office doesn't have the forms this year due to space problems.

In addition, tax help is available in a variety of ways that take advantage of the telephone and the Internet. Telefiling is becoming more and more popular, and the Internet offers a variety of resources to help taxpayers.