TAX MAN HAS COME; '96 FREEDOM DAY STILL NOT HERE

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Taxes are paid by the sweat of every man that labors."

And individuals whose 1995 federal tax returns remain unpaid today are surely sweating even more.

Millions of taxpayers scrambled to meet Monday's midnight deadline for filing federal returns, and Uncle Sam is hoping everyone made the deadline.

With all the options -- payment, extensions for filing and monthly payment plans -- there is no excuse for missing the filing deadline.

Now that millions of taxpayers have passed the final-day test, they can now look forward to Tax Freedom Day.

An annual study by the Tax Foundation, a research organization financed by corporations, shows this year's Tax Freedom Day will be the latest ever, May 7. The typical American must work 127 days this year to earn enough to pay federal, state and local taxes,

That's the same date as last year but represents an extra day of work because 1996 is a leap year. The tax bite in an eight-hour day is two hours and 47 minutes, the group said.

In 1940, Tax Freedom Day was March 8. A quarter-century ago, in 1965, it had advanced to mid-April.

Many taxpayers breathed a sigh of relief Monday after depositing their federal returns before midnight at post offices throughout the nation. More than 500,000 Missourians and millions of taxpayers nationwide still had not filed taxes going into the final weekend.

"Probably some filed over the weekend," said Ruth Rothbacher of the St. Louis District Internal Revenue Service office. "But the majority of that half million in Missouri waited until Monday."

St. Louis post offices had braced for a quarter-million filers Monday.

Nationally, 36 million, about 30 percent of the annual total, had not filed a final week before the deadline.

"About 80,000 Missourians requested automatic extensions, giving them until Aug. 15 to file," said Rothbacher. "Nationally, that total passes the six million mark."

Rothbacher pointed out, however, that the extension does not apply to money owed the federal government. "Taxpayers still incur a penalty on any money owed after April 15."

Post offices in every major city extended hours and late mail pickups Monday.

Traffic at the Cape Girardeau IRS office in the Federal Building was steady Monday. "We were not crowded," said Maria Randall of the IRS office. "But we had a steady stream of people throughout the day."

At the Cape Girardeau Post Office people lined up at times at the stamp machines.

One of those in line was Rose Hawk of Cape Girardeau.

Hawk, who expects a refund, said, "I just kept putting it off; suddenly it was the last day."

Refunds for 1996 are up from last year, said Rothbacher.

A year ago, in 1995, the federal government mailed out checks totaling $759,802,745. The total for 1996 will top the $1 billion mark.

"Refund checks last year averaged $952," said Rothbacher, "This year the average to date has been $1,217."