In Brief: Half of Pa. pays taxes electronically

Nearly half of all individual taxpayers in Pennsylvania filed their taxes electronically.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue more than 2.7 million or 48 percent of taxpayers filed their 2005 state personal income tax returns electronically this year, setting an all-time record for electronic filing.

This was up from last year's 36 percent.

"Each year, more and more taxpayers file their tax returns electronically," said Secretary of Revenue Gregory C. Fajt. "It is the most cost-effective method of filing a tax return and gives taxpayers more options and advantages compared to filing a traditional paper return."

And in this tax season, more than 491,000 taxpayers chose to directly deposit their refund, about 172,000 chose to pay their taxes using the ACH debit/credit option, and more than 22,000 chose to pay their taxes by credit card, according to the department.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International