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Help the elderly and disabled get their sales tax rebate
As state taxpayers cash their sales tax rebate checks, many Wisconsin
residents are still unaware that they have a share of the rebate coming
to them.
Individuals who were full-year Wisconsin residents in 1998 but did
not file a 1998 Wisconsin income tax return, such as the elderly or
disabled, are eligible for a sales tax rebate of $184. However, they
must apply for the rebate by June 30 to receive it.
This means that those most likely to need the money may not realize
that they are eligible for the rebate or know how to get it. Retired
Amery Attorney Mike Cwayna has been working to ensure that senior
citizens get the rebates to which they are entitled - going to senior
centers, nursing homes, and churches to get the word out - and helping
many complete a simple application form. "Some elderly folks even know
they're entitled to a rebate, but they don't want to bother because
they're afraid they won't understand the form," says Cwayna.
"Personally, I've helped complete in excess of 80 forms. Each one is
a Christmas present to me; seeing someone's face light up because that
person really needs the money."
Cwayna says this simple public service project "takes very little
time, yet offers immense satisfaction. You're helping some of society's
most vulnerable get what is rightfully theirs. Even spending just one
day distributing forms to the appropriate places makes a
difference."
Call the Department of Revenue at (608) 266-2772 (in the Madison
area) or (877) 973-2283 (outside the Madison area) to request sales tax
rebate application forms. The form also is available online at the Department of
Revenue's Web site or from any Department of Revenue office.
Revised real estate transfer form now in effect
As of Jan. 1, Wisconsin attorneys must use a new version of the Real
Estate Transfer Return form, which has been revised by the Department of
Revenue's Division of State and Local Finance.
The changes make the form easier to use and improve its ability to be
scanned by computer, according to John Rader of the Department of
Revenue. The most noticeable change to the form is its size; it has gone
from 8.5 x 14 to 8.5 x 11 inches. "There was a great demand for this
change from virtually all users of the form," says Rader. "The new
format is less cumbersome and more consistent in size with other
forms."
The change in size has led to changes in the form's content. For
example, the area for legal descriptions has been reduced to one line.
Previously, many legal descriptions were submitted as attachments,
according to the Department of Revenue; the change will mean a slight
increase in the number of forms returned with attachments. Another
concession to the 8.5 x 11 format has the grantor's address moved to the
back of the form and much of the information is rearranged.
A committee of more than 30 people, including local officials,
division staff, representatives of law firms, title companies, software
firms, and assessors were involved in the form's revision. The State Bar
Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section also provided input in the
final stages of revision.
Instructions for the Real Estate Transfer form and a sample of the
form are available
online. The form itself, however, is not available online. For free
copies of the form, call (608) 266-1961.
In addition, several software vendors sell templates that help
attorneys complete the form. These include:
Famous trials site offers legal history lesson
Famous
American Trials takes an extensive look at some of the country's
most famous trials and their participants through actual court documents
and transcripts, recordings, images, biographies, bibliographies, and
interviews. University of Missouri law professor Douglas O. Linder, who
maintains the site, provides his own brief history of the cases.
So far, the site covers the Leopold and Loeb, Scopes "Monkey,"
Rosenbergs, Amistad, Bill Haywood, Salem witchcraft, My Lai court
martial, Scottsboro, Dakota conflict, "Mississippi Burning," Chicago
Seven, and Johnson impeachment trials. Areas currently "under
construction" include the Lindbergh, Sacco-Vanzetti, Rodney King, and
O.J. Simpson trials.
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