Part 2, Wherein I battle the MA Department of Revenue

The following was sent to my town's State Senators and State Representative, the Auditor of Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Attorney General, the Governor (and Lt Governor), and the Secretary of Administration and Finance. It follows up a previous letter to the D.o.R.

Senators, Representative, and other State officials,

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
--Benjamin Franklin

Today I write you all to register a complaint regarding the behavior and performance of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, specifically the Audit division. I filed my personal income tax return, electronically, for both State and Federal taxes, in mid-March, 2007. Come April 2, 2007 my Federal income tax return had been directly deposited into my bank account. April 4, 2007 I received a letter, while still away at school, that the D.o.R. would be 'verifying' my 2006 Massachusetts Income Tax Return. The size of my return? $170. The documentation requested in the letter was sent from Sharon on 4/23/2007 via the United States Postal Service (Label Number: 0307 0020 0004 8152 5768) and was delivered to Boston, MA 02204 on 4/24/07 at 12:49pm. A series of calls today to the Audit Division of the D.o.R. revealed that my information was not entered into the computer system until 6/16/07. That alone is unacceptable. A series of calls made to the Audit Division of the D.o.R. in mid-May procured conflicting information regarding the status of the form. Some said that it had already been received, others did not. Once I returned home at the end of May I called again for a similar response. I called today, twice, and was told both times that my information had been entered into the computer system only within the past two weeks. When I asked about the estimated date for the conclusion of the audit, I was told 'several more weeks'. Today's date is 6/21/2007. Nearly two months after the requested forms were delivered to D.o.R. offices in Boston. I must restate the size of my MA Income Tax Return: $170

I am a college student who only works during the summer. My gross income for the year is under $5000. My 2006 return is my second tax return filed in MA. It is nearly identical to the previous one, only differing due to a small increase in my salary at the same employer I've worked both summers (as well as this current summer), Dynamet Technology, Inc in Burlington MA. I do not have any investments or significant assets to my name, besides my car (a 2005 Toyota Corolla).

I find it patently absurd that I would be selected for an audit. Given that the per-capita income for MA is on the order of $42,000 and there are over 6 million residents of MA, I must assume that there are at least a few MA Income Tax Returns that merit more scrutiny that mine, both due to larger size and greater complexity. There must be better ways for the Department of Revenue to spend its time and budget.

I have already sent a complaint to the D.o.R. via a e-mail form on their websites, as well as expressing my dissatisfaction with the D.o.R. representatives I spoke to today. Contacting you appeared to be the next logical step in getting a meaningful response about this issue.

My permanent address is:
XX XXXXX XX
XXXXXX, MA XXXXX
I can be reached via e-mail or by phone, ***-***-****

Any information or help provided would be greatly appreciated.

Lets see if that will get any wheels spinning.