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IRS transparency needed to keep public’s trust

Last weekend’s Mirror editorial focused on one plausible reason why many American taxpayers still are awaiting processing of their amended tax returns that they filed on Internal Revenue Service Form 1040-X — some more than two years ago. That plausible reason: Despite the end of the pandemic, perhaps more than 50 percent of IRS tax-return processors still are working from home, outside of the controls and productivity of a formal work environment. It is estimated that more than a million amended returns still haven’t been processed. The IRS has not formally announced ...

IRS needs stronger rules to govern itself

“IRS agents shouldn’t work from home” was the headline of an opinion article written by U.S. Rep. Ron Estes and published in the March 4 edition of the Wall Street Journal. Estes, a Republican representing Kansas’ 4th Congressional District, hit the proverbial nail on the head when he wrote, “Some might argue that teleworking, with reduced overhead, offers a tax-saving benefit, but that’s realized only if the agency is providing adequate customer service. The IRS isn’t.” Anyone who doubts the accuracy or honesty of Estes’ statement needs only to talk with some of ...

More early education on crime is vital

Pennsylvania school districts and the communities in which they reside could benefit from a special, mandatory four-session course required by the state Legislature and Department of Education, targeted for one of the junior high grades and spaced out over the course of the school year. The lead front-page article in last weekend’s Mirror — “Area sees increase in juvenile crime” — provided plenty of justification for such a special learning experience. The logical question emanating from that article is whether the Legislature and Governor’s Office would endorse the idea ...

Bullying victims should never suffer in silence

The information about online bullying that junior high students of the Altoona Area School District received this school year is the kind of presentation that should be available to similar-aged students of other districts, those near and far from Blair County. The mental and emotional scars today’s young people can carry long after their school years make it imperative that they understand the potential long-term harm if they are not watchful about the dangers which they can be exposed to via the internet and social media. Although some of the information received by the Altoona ...

Commission’s collaboration is important

The Blair County Planning Commission has revived discussion about how the commission, going forward, should be structured. However, what conclusions are reached in the weeks or months ahead need to be built on a foundation of input from all of the county’s municipal governments, not just some or a majority of them. General talks about a possible change in the commission’s current makeup are only now being re-energized after having been dormant for most of the past four years, no doubt at least in part due to the pandemic. But if the commission indeed is serious about weighing ...

Shortage of medicine needs probe

Young, healthy people are not likely to devote much attention to news reports about shortages of medicines. However, that changes as illnesses and other conditions creep into their lives — a fact of life as people age. Therefore, the news that the Federal Trade Commission is launching a probe of companies that help buy and distribute the bulk of medicines sold to U.S. hospitals will not attract much healthy Americans’ attention in the months ahead. Not so regarding Americans who lately or in the not-so-distant past have dealt with the uncertainties and stress associated with ...