Tax Deadline Delayed Until Monday
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Taxpayers get an extra three days to file their federal tax returns this year, and they can thank the nation's capital for the extra time.
The filing deadline is delayed until midnight Monday, April 18, because the District of Columbia will observe Emancipation Day on Friday - a day which marks the occasion when President Abraham Lincoln signed a law in 1862 ending slavery in the District of Columbia, more than eight months before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
By law, local holidays in the nation's capital affect tax deadlines the same way federal holidays would. States generally follow the federal deadline.
And with just four days left to file, WWJ hit the streets to find out if metro Detroiters have their taxes done yet.
Jeff Sebastian of Southfield says he filed his taxes in February and is still waiting for the refund. He says he'll use some of it to fix up his home, "Then maybe do something sweet for my wife," he says.
Another resident says usually, by now, she would have her taxes done but this year has been busy and she's put it off.
More than two-thirds of Michigan taxpayers chose e-file last year. One local woman says her family files electronically and while it's not difficult to do, the task still gets put off until the last minute.
(Copyright, 2011. WWJ Newsradio 950, All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
