E-filing taxes popular despite some skeptics

According to new statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service, more and more Maine taxpayers are preparing and filing their returns online.

However, on a national level, many are still skeptical to file electronically mainly due to security concerns, according to the latest Consumer Internet Barometer, a quarterly measure of who’s doing what on the Internet.

The barometer is produced by The Conference Board, a leading global business knowledge network for the world’s largest companies, and TNS NFO, a leading global provider of market information. The latest survey indicated that only 28 percent of online households nationally plan to file their 2003 taxes electronically, compared to 57 percent who intended to file by phone or mail.

The biggest reason cited for not using e-file was that the filer was not preparing his or her taxes. A close second was that filers did not want their personal information on the Internet.

“Online consumers continue to express concern about security when using the Internet to conduct financial transactions,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center.

These concerns didn’t seem to deter many Mainers from e-filing. As of March 19, more than 177,000 returns were filed electronically.