Anti-war protesters gather in San Francisco to share message as Tax Day deadline looms
No long lines at the post office on Tax Day, but there were anti-war protests
KTVUs Tom Vacar says there were no long lines at the post office on this Tax Day with everyone e-filing these days. However anti-war protesters took to Financial District in San Francisco to say they dont want their tax dollars used to bomb people in the Middle East.
SAN FRANCISCO - At midnight on Wednesday, the dreaded IRS tax filing deadline will have passed, but with fewer last-minute filers than you might expect. The three sure things: death, taxes and procrastination.
Tax-related protests
In front of the Montgomery Street building in San Francisco's Financial District that houses the Israeli Consulate, some 70 people gathered to protest use of their tax money for war. Even though the group blocked the street for a while, though loud, it was all respectful and non-confrontational.
A blank 1040 tax return form from the IRS. (iStock / Getty)
The protesters were adamant. "Why we're here is to protest the fact that our tax dollars are going to murder innocent people in Iran, Palestine and Lebanon. We're sick of seeing our money going for this," said a woman who gave her name as Mindy.
"It's very frustrating that our tax dollars are getting sent to bomb human beings in other countries and there's so much here that it could be spent on," said a woman who called herself Hanna.
Tax Day lines a thing of the past?
Meanwhile, at Bay Area post offices, there were no long lines, including San Francisco's Main Post Office on Evans Street, which was scheduled to be open at least until 8 p.m., if not midnight.
We met some last-minute filers there. "We're actually not getting, we don't owe anything but, all my life, I always pay my taxes on time, so I'm taking them to the post office," said taxpayer Mary Bishop.
"I've got to work and I just got really busy and I had to go back a few years. So, I'm very late," said taxpayer Edwin Guiterrez. "It takes time, you have to make sure you have all your paperwork together. It just happened this way. I tried to do it earlier but, you know, things get in the way," said taxpayer Lisa Parker.
What we didn't see was some postal person standing out front simply taking returns from people with the guarantee that they would be marked as post market before midnight. That's because the numbers say how it's all changed.
The procrastinators
Nineteen percent of U.S. income taxpayers, about 31 million, or 1 in 5 taxpayers admit to waiting until the deadline to file, most of them online. Only 11 million of those people still send in paper returns, 2 million of them on the very last day.
Another 20 million will file for an extension. Last minute filers cite a combination of reasons for procrastinating.
Seventy-five percent say they were too busy. As many as 43% say they were waiting on their tax preparer.
Thirty-two percent say it's too complicated. Many wait because they expect no refund.
But, taxes must be paid. "We do it online every year. This year, for some reason, there was a computer mishap, so I guess, yeah, we're doing the best we can," said taxpayer Jason De Ita.
Why you should care:
If you owe and don't pay, interest and fines start at midnight.
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