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News You Can Use

January 25, 2008

Small Business Owners Can Now File Tax Forms Electronically in PA 

Pennsylvania is ready for small business owners to begin filing state tax returns online or by phone with the more than three million taxpayers expected to file electronically in 2008.  With the PA Department of Revenue's addition of Schedule C for reporting business profits or losses, small business owners will be joining 52 percent of taxpayers opting to file online. 

The Department reminds taxpayers that electronic filing allows refunds to be processed in half the time required to file a paper return.  Refunds can then be directly deposited to your checking or savings account.  Other benefits of electronic filing include:

• Math calculations performed and errors eliminated;

• Instant confirmation that the department has received the filed return;

• Secure and protected electronic filing systems meeting the industry standard for online banking and trading;

• Ability to check the status of a return or refund; and

• Access to online customer service.

Individuals, businesses, and tax professionals can get started filing state tax forms through Pennsylvania's e-Services Center or  The Online Customer Service Center.

PA Department of Revenue is available to answer questions related to your state taxes.  You may also call the Taxpayer Service & Information Center at 717-787-8201 from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or visit your local Revenue district office.   

Cell Phone Recycling to Help Others 

Cellular phones are now in the hands of more than 156 million Americans.  With each new generation of ever-evolving cell phone technology, the old is continually being replaced with the new.  The result is millions of drawers filled with operable, but discarded cell phones; or the metals, copper, chemicals, and plastics becoming landfill pollutants when cell phones are thrown in the trash, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).   

Between 1999 and 2003, 2.5 million phones were collected to be recycled or reused, accounting for less than one percent of the millions of phones retired or discarded annually.  As landfill contaminants, they waste the natural resources and energy originally required to produce the cell phone.   

The EPA recommends minimizing the environmental impact of a cell phone by keeping it longer, correctly charging its battery, donating it for reuse, or recycling it for its components.  Donating the phone and its accessories to charities in turn places communication in the hands of those in crisis or need.  Get the details on reuse and recycling from the EPA.  Download and share with your family, a brochure on the life cycle of a cell phone.  Get answers to the most frequently asked questions about electronics recycling.  

Groundhog Day Continues Seminal Tradition 

Pennsylvania will carry on the proud tradition in 2008 of turning to the groundhog for a whimsical weather forecast to warm hearts and minds, even if the February 2 prediction is for six more weeks of winter.   

Groundhog Day events will begin at noon on Friday, February 1 and continue through Sunday, February 3.  Celebrants will find the gate at Gobbler's Knob opening at 3 a.m. and the on-site prediction for spring's arrival to follow at 7:25 a.m. on Saturday, February 2.   

Buffets, pizza shops, restaurants, souvenir and craft shops, an art show, an Amish quilt auction, a scavenger hunt, comedy night, and the Prognosticators Ball represent just a portion of the fun planned for Punxsutawney during the first weekend in February.   

The celebrated prognosticator hails from Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Indiana County.  Some claim Punxsutawney Phil's yearly prediction is a tradition in its 121st year and connect the seasonal event to Candlemas Day recognized by early Christians as a day to bless and distribute candles — the hot commodity in the days before electric lights, especially during the cold, dark winter.  VisitPA.com takes a look at the Shadowy Tradition of Groundhog Day and offers a guide to area accommodations and attractions.   

Legend, tradition, lore, or myth, the official site of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club is filled with fun facts about groundhogs, past predictions, the three-day schedule of events, and more.   

Find Year-Round Fun at the PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center 

The 2008 Farm Show's butter sculpture has found new life, the cooking contests are over, and the farm animals have gone home.  But people will continue to pour into the PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center throughout the year for fun, food, and entertainment.   

The 2008 line up includes something for everyone.  The Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show sets up shop from February 2-10.  A week later the Motorama Races & Show rolls into the Complex, followed by the PA Horse World Expo, and the Annual Home Show running from February 23 through March 2. 

Check out the 2008 PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center for a schedule full of events for the whole family. 

The 2008 Farm Show Wrap-up 

The 2008 Farm Show wrap-up included the conversion of the 1,000 pound butter sculpture into more than 100 gallons of fuel by Penn State College and the State College High School Ag Science program.  According to the PA Cooperative Potato Growers, butter was fueling the visitors as well.  Along with the 25,000 pounds of baked potatoes and 320 pounds of sweet potatoes consumed by Farm Show visitors, they added 1,200 pounds of butter to those spuds.  Check out the wrap-up for more astonishing numbers like the report from the Pennsylvania Dairyman's Association revealing more than two tons of mozzarella cheese was consumed during the week-long event.

Warm Up Your Winter with Winning Farm Show Recipes 

How do you like your apple pie? Perhaps with a little streusel topping; or caramel, or try adding two cups of fresh blueberries for Blueberry Apple Bliss.  Warm up to the winning recipes from the 2008 Farm Show Baking Contest for Blue Ribbon Apple Pie.   

Don't stop there.  Check out the top five recipes for 2008, along with those from '07, '06, '05, and '04 posted on the PA Farm Show website.  Included are five years of winning recipes for: 

• Greatest Cocoa Cookie
• Greatest Cocoa Cake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake
• Shoo-Fly Cake/Pie
• Angel Food Cake

More than 25 additional unbeatable recipes appear below those entries.  Guest chefs like Howard Helmer, World's Fastest Omelet Maker, give you the secret for the perfect 40-second omelet.  Prepare basic vegetable stock and chunky vegetable soup like an executive chef.  Add spark to your breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert with select Farm Show recipes.   

Ice Fishing Takes the Spotlight 

Make sure you are using the proper hook, line, bait, and technique if you want to take up ice fishing in Pennsylvania, courtesy of the state's Fish & Boat Commission (PF&BC) web resources.  According to the Commission, choosing the correct clothing and shelter or windbreaker are equally important for ice fishing.   

An article appearing in the Pennsylvania Angler & Boater offers tips on what it takes to catch bluegills, crappies, yellow perch, largemouth bass, northern pike, walleyes, and trout in the state's icy lakes and waterways.  The use of modern technology such as depth finders with fish flashers, global positioning systems, and underwater cameras are also discussed.  

The Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) offers an interactive ice fishing map to help you locate parks with lakes that typically freeze sufficiently for safe ice fishing.  Access the DCNR Ice Fishing page.

The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission website is ready to guide the novice or veteran fisherman along the way for some great winter fishing.