Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, April 16, 2008, Page 8, Image 8

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    April 16. 2008
Page B2
L aw /J ustice
FULL LOCKSMITH
SERVICE • RE-KEY AND INSTALL LOCKS
LOCKED OUT?-WE MAKE KEYS FROM SCRATCH: HOUSE, OFFICE OR CAR
Portland 503.284.9582 • Oregon City 503.656.2116
Serving Portland/Metro area (N, NE, SE, SW & NW)
Your Care
Our First Priority
loc a te d at
1716 N.E. 42nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97213
(Between Broadway
and Sandx Blvd. )
A utom obile accident injuries
C hronic headache and jo in t pain
W orkers C om pensation injuries
Call for an appointment! (503)228-614(1
S ta te Farm ®
Providing Insurance and Financial Services
Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710
Warning about
services issued
According to a Better Business
Bureau study, nearly one-third of
complaints against tax preparation
companies allege that the preparer
made an error or mistake in their tax
return, resulting in the consumer
having to pay fines or added fees to
rectify the problem.
“Few things are as certain as
death and taxes, and it’s also true
that few things are as scary—that’s
why more than half of the 120 mil­
lion American taxpayers enlist the
help of a tax preparer every year,”
said Robert Andrew, president and
chief executive officer of the BBB
serving Alaska, Oregon, and West­
ern Washington. "However, con­
sumers end up being held respon­
sible when their tax preparer makes
mistakes or errors on their return.
This can mean fees and fines add­
ing up to thousands of dollars that
they owe the government.”
Mistakes and errors are the most
com m on co m p la in t c a teg o ry
against tax preparers. Approxi­
mately 20 percent of complaints
I)r. Marcelitte Failla
Chiropractic Physician
We a re
Tax Preparer Mistakes Cost Consumers
IM tU I»M l I
... ....-n >
Michael E Harper
We moved to our new location at:
a s t " y - 1,
trie
allege that the tax preparer was sim­
ply unresponsive.
Typically, the tax preparer did
not return repeated cal Is or attempts
by the complainant to receive as­
sistan ce. M any c o m p lain an ts
noted that they felt frantic as they
faced filing deadlines or audits, and
were not receiving any help from
their tax preparer.
Disputes over billing accounted
for 19 percent of complaints to the
BBB. Typically, consumers were
shocked when they received a high
bill for having their taxes prepared
or felt that they did not receive the
level of service they paid for.
Almost 7 percent of complain­
ants say the tax preparation com­
pany was rude, and 6 percent of
complainants say they didn’t re­
ceive their refund. The most dis­
turbing finding may be that 6.3 per­
cent of complainants allege that the
tax preparer never filed their tax
return at all.
The BBB wants to warn consum­
ers that when the 1RS detects a false
return, the taxpayer, not the tax
preparer, must pay any additional
taxes as well as any other associ­
ated interest, fees and penalties.
The taxpayer is responsible for all
information submitted to the IRS.
Many tax preparers provide qual­
ity services to their clients, but the
BBB encourages consumers to use
the same caution in selecting tax
preparation help as they do when
they select other professional ser­
vices such as doctors or lawyers.
Your BBB offers the following
advice when searching for help with
taxes:
Ask around. Get referrals from
friends and family on who they use,
and get a free reliability report on a
tax preparation business from the
BBB website at bbb.org.
Ideally, tax preparers should ei­
ther be a certified public accoun­
tant, a tax attorney or an enrolled
agent. All three can represent tax­
payers before the IRS in all matters,
including an audit. Also, find out if
the preparer is affiliated with a pro­
fessional organization that holds
its members to a code of ethics.
Don’t fall forthe promiseofabig
refund. Be wary of any tax prepara­
tion businesses that promise larger
refunds than the competition, and
avoid tax preparers who base their
fee on a percentage of your refund.
9713 S.W. Capitol, Portland, OR
Obama Ex-Minister to Address NAACP Armed
Tavern
Robber
Wanted
503-221-3050
Fax 503-227-8757
(A P ) — T h e e m b a ttle d
form er m inister o f D em ocratic
presidential candidate Barack
O bam a has been selected as
the k ey n o te sp e a k e r for the
D etroit branch o f the N A A C P ’s
53rd Annual Fight for Freedom
Fund dinner.
T he civil rights organization
sa id T h u r s d a y th e R e v .
Jerem iah Wright will speak April
27 at the event, w hose past
speakers have included O bam a,
Sen. H illary Clinton and form er
President Bill C linton.
bcensec/ fsrftehc ion
N a il tech, Skin Analyst
& Make-Up Artist
XWEUtY
T he N ational A ssociation for
the A dvancem ent o f C olored
People's Freedom Fund dinner
draw s about 10,000 people.
W right has been criticized for
rem arks about ev erything from
race relations to the Sept. 11
te rro rist attacks. H e recently
retired from C h ic a g o 's T rinity
U nited C hurch o f C hrist.
O b am a has d en o u n ced the
m ost inflam m atory o f W right's
com m ents, but says he shouldn’t
be ju d g e d solely on a handful o f
rem ark s.
Rev. Jeremiah Wright
BODY SHAPi CONSUL TING
C a O K MATCHING
Firefighter Gets 2 Months for Fraud
Phone: 503.995.4136
aprljnsQyahoo. com
(A P) — A form er Portland
firefighter w ho collected d is­
ability paym ents w hile w orking
as a m edic in Iraq has been
sentenced to tw o m onths in jail.
M ark V rvilo. 43, w as charged
w ith ste a lin g $ 1 9 ,6 2 2 fro m
P ortland’s Fire and Police D is­
ability and R etirem ent Fund by
claim ing his injury w as keeping
him from w orking even though
Michael Tillery
Broker
503.975.8004
michael@bridgetownrealty.com
Please call me, your neighborhood
specialist, for any of your Real Estate
needs. My success is built on a
commitment to quality service.
he w orked various jo b s betw een
2001 and 2004.
P r o s e c u to r D e n n is S h e n
asked M ultnom ah C ounty J udge
H e n ry K a n to r to s e n te n c e
V rvilo to m ore than tw o years in
prison, saying he consciously
ch eated the system out nearly
$100,000.
But defense attorney, John
C ulver, asked the ju d g e not to
Man Convicted
in Bank Heist
B R ID G E T O W N
r REALTY
11
After four days o f trial, a federal jury recently
convicted Ralph Rene W illiams, 57, o f Portland,
for the Aug. 14 robbery o f the Lombard-Emerald
branch o f U.S. Bank in north Portland.
Ralph Rene W illiam s, 57, w ho previously
served 15 years in prison for robbery when he
Chiropractic Auto Injury Clinic, PC
Zchon R. Jones, DC
333 NE Russell St., #200, Portland, OR. 97212
(503) 284-7838
send h isc lie n t to prison because
he n eeded to c o n tin u e tre a t­
m ent for post-traum atic stress
disorder.
“The only purpose o f sending
h i m to prison w ould be as punish­
ment, which I know is w hat the
state w ants,” C ulver said. “H ow ­
e v e r, the b e st th in g fo r the
com m unity’s interests w ould be
tohave Mr. V rvilorehabilitated.”
robbed the First Interstate Bank on N orth
D enver A venue, now faces se n te n c in g on
June 20 for new conviction that can carry
another 20 years in prison. In both cases, he
w ore a full disguise.
W illiams was released from custody late in
2004 and was on supervised release at the time
o f the A ugust bank robbery in w hich over
$27.000 in cash was stolen.
The case was investigated by the FBI and
prosecuted by federal prosecutors.
Creation
of Style
T he P ortland Police B u­
reau , in c o o p e ra tio n w ith
C rim es S toppers, is asking
for your help in solving a
tavern robbery.
O n F riday, M arch 28, at 1
a.m ., A n d y ’s Inn, located at
7901 S.E. F oster Rd., w as
robbed at gunpoint by a lone
m an. A rm ed w ith a handgun,
he ordered the em ployee and
patrons to the gro u n d and
told them he w a sn 't afraid to
shoot anyone. T he suspect
took an undisclosed am ount
o f m oney and left out the
door.
He is describ ed as a black
m ale in his late 30s o r early
4 0 s.T he6-foot-1 to 6 -fo o t-2 -
inch m an is said to have a thin
build. He w as w earing y e l­
low goggles o v er his eyes, a
yellow hooded w indbreaker,
a knit cap underneath and
blue jean s.
C rim e Stoppers is offering
a cash rew ard o f up to $ 1 ,(XX)
for inform ation, reported to
C rim e S toppers, that leads to
a resolution in this case, and
you rem ain anonym ous. Call
C rim e S toppers at 503-823-
H E L P (4357).
Eddie Lincoln Broker
"We are all
beautiful in
his sight”
Truly making a difference in the lives of
Auto Accident victims and Injured Workers for 16 years.
If you or someone you know has been in an accident,
call us so we can help you with your needs. (503) 284-7838
Hart Realty
We are located on the
corner ofM LK and Russell
Street, on the second floor
above the coffee shop.
9738 SE Washington St.. Suite Q
Portland. Oregon 97216
Business (503) 252-2121
8208 N Denver (corner o f Kilpatrick)
Portland OR 97217
503-286-3877
Email: Creationofstyle@yahoo.com
B arbara W aters - O w ner
W
F a x (50 3 )2 5 2-2 6 2 1
Cell (503) 789-0861
E-Mail eddie.lineoln(P'ecntury21 .eom
Fach office Is Independently
Owned and Operated
Parking Are«
FUNE
Riiteli
«200
Russell St
s
i
Advertise with diversity in
( all 5O3-288-(X)33
JJortlattb (Phsevurr
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