Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Employers must furnish
W-2 tax forms by Jan. 31Question: The company I work for part time sent our W-2 tax forms in the mail, but I never got them. I've been trying for the past four weeks to get copies and have only reached dead ends. What can I do or who can I contact to speed them along?
Answer: You might want to inform your employer that it's against both federal and state law not to provide employees with their W-2 statements at least by Jan. 31.
If attempts to obtain the statements fail, you should call the Internal Revenue Service at 800-829-1040, said IRS spokeswoman Shawn George. The IRS will contact your employer, as well as help you file your 2001 tax return.
If you have pay stubs from your employer, particularly the last pay stub of the year, the process will be easier and faster since you will have ready proof of your withholding, George said.
The federal penalty for not providing employees with a Form W-2 is a civil one. If an employer is found to have intentionally disregarded the requirement to furnish a correct W-2, the penalty is at least $100 per W-2, with no maximum.
On the state level, any employee having difficulty getting W-2s should contact the state Taxpayer Services Branch at 587-4242 or e-mail TAXPAYER SERVICES@tax.state.hi.us, said spokeswoman Annette Yamanuha.
You should provide your employer's name and address, and your name, mailing address, telephone number and Social Security number, she said.
After receiving the information, the Tax Department would send a letter to your employer outlining the employer's obligations in issuing the W-2s and the penalties for failing to do so, she said.
"Additionally, we state that we are officially notifying the employer that the employee has contacted the Department of Taxation regarding this matter and that they have 10 days to comply," she said.
The department also sends a letter to the employee advising that he/she should allow one to two weeks for the W-2 to be mailed, Yamanuha said.
A Form L-15, an Employee's Substitute Wage and Tax Statement, is enclosed to use as an alternative if the W-2 is not received in time to file a return, she added.
Any person required to furnish such tax statements who furnishes false or fraudulent W-2s, or who "willfully fails" to furnish a statement, faces misdemeanor charges punishable by a maximum fine of $25,000, one year in prison and/or probation. The maximum fine for a corporation is $100,000.
Auwe
To Local 5 (Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union) members who were marching along Atkinson Drive on Thursday. They took up the entire sidewalk and would not give any room to me and my family to walk. We were going to the Auto Show at the Convention Center and were forced to walk on Atkinson. Luckily for my two young children, no cars were coming down the road. The union reps seemed more concerned that everyone had their signs than concerned for the public. -- Bullied off the Sidewalk(Local 5 officials met with Honolulu police before the march to coordinate efforts to safeguard both the hundreds of union members who participated and the public, responded Local 5 head Eric Gill.
("Union marshals did attempt to clear pathways for other pedestrian traffic, and the union split the demonstration into two parts to avoid overcongestion," he said.
(Gill said "any inconvenience to the public is regretted," but noted there were no injuries and no near accidents.
("The union will continue to improve planning and execution of street events," he said.)
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com