Taxpayer service technology

Among the many customers taxpayer
service representatives like Patti Dustin
recently assisted included a caller from the
Canada who was thrilled to get a fast and
accurate update of his Maryland tax return
several hundred miles away - without toll
charges.

Maryland income tax help

1-800-MD TAXES
24-hour refund hotline

1-800-218-8160
Maryland business tax help

1-800-492-1751
Unclaimed funds

1-800-782-7383

Maryland Relay Service

(MRS): 1-800-735-2258

Comptroller Goldstein's use of
technology has also improved the service
available to taxpayers.

With 75% of Maryland's 2.2 million
taxpayers expecting refund checks every
year, it's no surprise that the 24-hour
refund hotline logged over 520,000 calls
during fiscal year 1996.

Prompted by the taxpayer's Social
Security number and other data, the
automated refund system tells taxpayers
the location of their check in the process-
ing pipeline.

The comptroller's taxpayer service
lines also received more than 327,000
calls during the fiscal year - two-thirds of
which come in during the January - April
tax filing season.

Taxpayer service representatives
answer a sea of calls and can make
changes to an account while talking to
the taxpayer on the phone or even print a
copy of the form to provide to the cus-
tomer.

Taxpayers can also e-mail inquiries
to the State Comptroller's Office at
taxhelp@comp.state.md.us.

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