In the middle of a pandemic, the Utah State Tax Commission has decided that, in contrast to past years when you could contact them by phone and have tax forms sent to your house, this year they are only accepting copies that you have printed off yourself or digitally filed.
Do they not realize that not everyone has access to a printer or computer at home? Do they not realize that the libraries, upon whose backs they have previously foisted this responsibility, are working in a restricted capacity because of the pandemic? The city libraries are closed to the public and the county libraries are open in a limited capacity for half an hour — not enough time to file your taxes.
The government is here to serve all our citizens, not just those who are computer savvy or rich enough to have a printer in their home.
I tried to call to talk to someone about this and was put on hold for 26 minutes — in January. What is the wait time going to be for people in April? This is unconscionable. This is irresponsible. The Utah State Tax Commission needs to immediately reinstate their service of sending paper copies to people’s homes as soon as possible, in this year of all years.
Bernadette LeRoy
Salt Lake City