Business Notes TAXES

When it comes to knotty tax questions, Internal Revenue Service employees are just as confused as everyone else -- maybe more so. General Accounting Office investigators recently posed as befuddled taxpayers calling for help on the IRS's toll-free tax-question line. They got wrong answers 22% of the time and incomplete advice on 15% of their other queries. Last year GAO sleuths were misled only 17% of the time.

The IRS "assisters" had the most trouble deciding when to file a 1040A short form, how to report pension income and how to use the new W-4 withholding form. Getting the papers filled out in person does not help. The GAO says Government preparers make as many mistakes in arithmetic as regular folks.