Tax deadline is here

Tens of thousands of procrastinating Iowans will mail off their tax returns tonight.The I-R-S expects about one-point-three million Iowans to file federal tax returns this year and as of last week, only 915-thousand had filed. Richard Watkins, the Iowa spokesman for the U-S Postal Service, says the state’s largest mail processing center is in Des Moines.On a normal business day, the Des Moines center handles five- to six-hundred-thousand pieces of mail. Tonight, they’re expecting up to eight-hundred-thousand. Watkins says Iowa has about 800 post offices but it’s not an easy task to say how many will be open late tonight to cater to procrastinating taxpayers.Watkins says this federal deadline day is actually getting easier, due to a rise in people filing tax returns electronically. This year, at least 60-percent of Iowa taxpayers will e-file, up from 40-percent last year. The I-R-S says the average refund check is worth 19-hundred-54 dollars.