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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2020)
2A | SATURDAY, JANUARY 18, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS On The Record 2020 Oregon state tax season to begin Jan. 27 The Oregon Department of Revenue will begin pro- cessing state tax returns on Jan. 27, the same day the IRS will begin processing federal returns. Taxpayers can submit their returns earlier, but processing won’t start until the tax season officially begins. Once processing begins, returns will be processed in the order received. However, the Oregon De- partment of Revenue won’t be issuing personal income tax refunds until after Feb. 15. This refund hold is part of the state’s tax fraud pre- vention activities and will allow confirmation that the amounts claimed on returns matches what em- ployers report on forms W-2 and 1099. The IRS is also holding federal tax refunds until after Feb. 15, but only for those taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. Federal changes from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act directly impact Oregon’s personal income tax, including changes to calculating withholding al- lowances for tax year 2019. This may mean that more taxpayers have a tax to pay or may have more tax to pay than usual. The department encour- ages taxpayers to use its online withholding calcu- lator to check their state withholding, so they can make any necessary chang- es to 2020 withholding. Also, because of these federal tax changes, Ore- gon now has its own W-4 called Form OR-W-4. Tax- payers can request the new form from their employer or download it at www.or- egon.gov/dor, fill it out and return it to their employer. It’s important to note that beginning Jan. 1, any changes to your state with- holding must be made us- ing Form OR-W-4 because Oregon withholding is cal- culated using allowances, unlike the federal form. Here are a few other things for taxpayers to keep in mind this tax sea- son: • E-filing is the fastest way to get your tax refund. On average, taxpayers who e-file their returns and re- quest their refund via di- rect deposit receive their refund sooner than those who file paper returns and request paper refund checks. • Some software com- panies offer free software use and e-filing for eligible taxpayers. Be sure to access the software through the department’s website, or the company may not al- low you to take advantage of the free offer. • AARP and CASH Oregon provide free and low-cost tax preparation services throughout local communities. • All Oregon taxpayers preparing their own return can file electronically at no cost using Oregon’s free fillable forms. For more information, visit www.or- egon.gov/dor and click on “Free tax preparation ser- vices” under “More Topics” on the department’s home- page. • Anyone who needs a personal income tax return booklet can download and print it from www.oregon. CITY MEETINGS UPDATE During the holiday sea- son, the following sched- uled City of Florence-re- lated meetings or work sessions did not take place for different reasons rang- ing from lack of a quorum to holiday closures. Here is a list of meetings in December and January that were canceled, most of which have been resched- uled. The currently scheduled city meetings can be found online at https://www.ci. florence.or.us. December 2019 — Cancelled Jan. 16 • City Council Work Ses- • Community and Eco- sion @ 10:30 a.m. — Can- nomic Development Com- celled mittee (CEDC) meeting @3:45 — Cancelled Dec. 17 • Environmental Man- agement Advisory Com- mittee (EMAC) meeting @ 6 p.m. — Cancelled gov/dor/forms. They can also order a copy online, by calling 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222, or by mail- ing their request — along with their name, phone number, and mailing ad- dress to: Forms Oregon Department of Revenue PO Box 14999 Salem, OR 97309-0990 • Some eligible Orego- nians may not be claiming the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. For more in- formation about the credit and eligibility, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov. Employers must file their income tax withhold- ing returns and reports and remit the income tax with- held from their employees’ paychecks by Jan. 31. Em- ployer returns and reports due by Jan. 31 include: • Quarterly Employer Tax Report (Form OQ) for the fourth quarter of 2019. • Statewide transit tax return (Form OR-STT-1 and STT-2), also for fourth quarter. • Employee Detail Re- port (Form 132). • W-2s and 1099s for each employee or worker, electronically submitted through iWire. • Annual withhold- ing reconciliation report (Form OR-WR). For information about an employer’s filing or pay- ment responsibilities, visit the department’s website at www.oregon.gov/dor, call 503-945-8091 or email payroll.help.dor@oregon. gov. Visit www.oregon.gov/ dor to get forms, check the status of your refund, or make payments. Call 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222 (toll-free) or email questions.dor@ oregon.gov for additional assistance. For TTY for hearing- or speech-impaired, call 800- 886-7204. D ATE H IGH Jan. 7 48 Jan. 8 45 Jan. 9 43 Jan. 10 48 Jan. 11 47 Jan. 12 47 Jan. 13 42 42 39 31 39 41 39 38 0.94 0.51 0.06 0.60 0.54 0.86 0.76 Courtesy of Roger Cunningham S IUSLAW N EWS It’s Our Birthday! Join us for our 100th Birthday Celebration Saturday, January 25th 2 pm – 5 pm Getting your hearing tested by the ONLY doctors of audiology in Florence. Come and enjoy the history of the Mapleton Grange! Mapleton Grange On East Mapleton Road Call today to start your year off right! BETTER HEARING THIS YEAR of Florence ASSOCIATES 541.991.4475 1901 Hwy 101, Ste A Florence HearingAssociatesOfFlorence.com | Doctors of Audiology Want more news? TheSiuslawNews.com Dec. 24 • Planning Commission meeting @ 5:30 p.m. — Cancelled Dec. 25 • Florence Urban Renew- al Agency (FURA) meeting @ 5:30 p.m. — Rescheduled DEATH NOTICE el Florence Funeral Home is in charge of arrange- ments. st Every dollar donated to ShelterBox USA during the Show will be matched up to $10,000 by Show Management. Make your donation at the Eugene Delta Rotary exhibit of the actual emergency aid supplies & tent delivered to families who have lost everything during natural disasters and crises. ShelterBoxUSA.org January 24-26 R AIN Rainfall Week: 4.27” Month: 7.84” Year: 7.84” Dec. 2 • City Council work ses- sion @ 10:30 a.m. — Can- January 2020 celled Jan. 6 • City Council Work Ses- Dec. 10 sion @ 10:30 a.m. — Can- • Planning Commission celled meeting @ 5:30 p.m.— Cancelled Jan. 13 • Public Art Committee Dec. 11 (PAC) meeting @ 10 a.m. • Florence Urban Renew- — Cancelled al Agency (FURA) meeting @ 5:30 p.m. — Cancelled Jan. 14 • Planning Commission Dec. 16 Hearing @ 5:30 p.m. — • Public Art Committee Cancelled (PAC) meeting @ 10 a.m. H AW K S — J o h n H . Hawks, 70, of Florence, passed away Jan. 7, 2020. Burns’s Riverside Chap- L OW Serving cake, ice cream and soda The first step to better hearing? I WILL HEAR WEATHER DATA
