WASHINGTON — Taxpayers may file their 2006 tax returns electronically beginning today as the Internal Revenue Service opens the e-file program following a record-setting year.

“E-file is fastest, safest and most accurate way to file a tax return,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. “People will get their refunds faster through e-file. E-file greatly reduces the chances for making an error compared to filing a paper 1040.”

Taxpayers who use IRS e-file and who choose direct deposit can receive their refund in half the time. Also, tax return information is protected through encryption, and an e-filed tax return is far more accurate than a paper return. Taxpayers receive an acknowledgement within 48 hours that the IRS accepted the return.

IRS e-file surpassed a record in 2006 when more than 73 million tax returns, almost 54 percent of all returns, were filed electronically.

IRS e-file allows taxpayers to file their return and pay later should they owe taxes, and it allows taxpayers to file both the federal and most state returns at the same time. The IRS began the e-file program in 1986 as a pilot project in three cities: Cincinnati, Phoenix and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. That year, there were 25,000 tax returns filed electronically. The e-file program expanded nationwide in 1990 and 4.2 million tax returns were filed. IRS e-file has undergone tremendous growth each year.

Taxpayers may use IRS e-file through their tax preparer, over-the-counter software or Internet programs. The IRS does not charge for e-file, but some tax preparers and software manufactures may charge a fee.

IRS Free File, a partnership between the IRS and some software manufacturers, will offer free tax preparation and e-filing for taxpayers with an Adjusted Gross Income of $52,000 or less. This AGI accounts for 70 percent of all taxpayers or 95 million taxpayers. This year the program features an agreement by private sector partners to remove Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) as well as other ancillary offerings from the program. Free File will be available later this month.

Feb. 3 Start Date for Extenders Provisions

The IRS plans a Feb. 3 start date for processing tax returns that claim key tax provisions enacted in December. Both paper and electronic returns will not be processed if submitted before Feb. 3. Tax returns filed on paper will be accepted but will not be processed until after IRS processing systems are updated on Feb. 3.

The IRS also noted that it will begin processing both e-file and paper tax returns that include claims for key “extender” provisions, including deductions for state and local sales taxes, higher education tuition and fees, and educator expenses on Feb. 3. Any other tax returns for individuals that do not claim an extender provision can be filed as normal this month.

Tax returns filed on paper with these extender provisions will be accepted but will not be processed until after IRS processing systems are updated on Feb. 3.

The IRS emphasized that using IRS e-file is the most accurate to file any return and the quickest way for taxpayers to receive their refunds. Tax software will be updated so taxpayers can easily claim the extender provisions.

The AP count is seven higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Friday at 10 a.m. EST.

The British military has reported 128 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 18; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, six; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Romania, one death each.

The Justice Department has today reached a settlement resolving allegations that Compass Bank of Birmingham, Ala., engaged in a pattern of lending discrimination against individuals based on their marital status.

The government’s complaint alleges that Compass Bank violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status or age by unlawfully charging higher interest rates to co-applicants for automobile loans who were not married to each other than to co-applicants who were married.

The Justice Department and Compass Bank reached a consent order, which was filed in conjunction with the complaint, in federal district court in Birmingham, Ala. Under the agreement, which remains subject to court approval, Compass Bank is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of marital status in any aspect of its automobile lending.

“Under the law, marital status should have no effect on an individual’s access to credit,” said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to vigorously enforce the federal laws that prevent discrimination in credit and lending services. We commend Compass Bank for working cooperatively with the Justice Department in reaching an appropriate resolution of this case.”

Compass Bank has already implemented changes to its lending procedures that explicitly prohibit distinctions based on marital status, and it is required to maintain these changes under the agreement. In addition, Compass Bank will pay up to $1.75 million plus interest to non-spousal co-applicants who were charged higher interest rates, and it will provide enhanced equal credit opportunity training to its officers and employees who set rates for automobile loans.

The Federal Reserve Board referred this matter to the Justice Department for enforcement after its 2003 periodic examination gave the Board reason to believe that Compass Bank’s loan pricing procedures and directives constituted a pattern or practice of discrimination. Compass Bank cooperated fully with both the Board’s and the Department’s investigations into its lending practices and agreed to settle this matter without contested litigation.

The US House of Representatives passed HR 3 Thursday, which would amend the Public Health Service Act to allow for additional embryonic stem cell research. In a press release issued after passage, the White House characterized embryonic stem cells as human life, and promised to veto the bill. President Bush’s first veto in office came this past summer, when he vetoed another embryonic stem cell research bill. Bill supporters had hoped that midterm elections would make the bill veto-proof, but Thursday’s 253-174 vote is still short of the required two-thirds majority.

"While it's not enough to override a veto, it's enough to show we have tremendous momentum," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., who spearheaded the House effort with Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del. With the Senate near having the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, DeGette suggested that it is time for the president to begin negotiating with Congress over compromise language.

In 2001, Bush limited federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells to the then existing lines, of which only 21 remain viable. Researchers say that many of these lines are contaminated, and are not very useful, while research from 300 newer lines that were obtained from unused embryos destined to be thrown away from fertility clinics show far more promise.

The House-based bill would expand that pool of available cells to include those from any of the thousands of embryos that are discarded by fertility clinics each year, as long as those cells were freely donated for research by the parents. It would also impose some of the country's first ethics rules on embryo research.The vote came after about three hours of impassioned speeches by members on both sides of the issue.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., spoke up for alternative methods of obtaining stem cells. "The assumption by many people that you have to kill human embryos to get embryonic stem cells just isn't true," Bart-lett said.

WASHINGTON— A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas has returned a seven-count indictment charging Luis Posada Carriles with one count of naturalization fraud and six counts of making false statements in a naturalization proceeding, the Department of Justice announced today.

The indictment alleges that Posada, 78, a native of Cuba, knowingly attempted to obtain naturalization as a U.S. citizen unlawfully by making false statements on his application for naturalization on or about Sept. 10, 2005. The indictment also alleges that he knowingly made false statements under oath during his naturalization interview with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on April 25 and 26, 2006.

In his naturalization interview, Posada allegedly made several false statements regarding his March 2005 entry into the United States, including statements about the transportation routes and methods used, as well as individuals who accompanied him. For example, he stated that he traveled from Honduras through Belize and entered the United States over land near Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas, with the assistance of an unidentified alien smuggler. In fact, Posada entered the United States by sea aboard the motor vessel “Santrina” accompanied by four individuals, the indictment alleges.

Posada further stated in his naturalization interview that he had never had any type of documentation, passport or identification from the Republic of Guatemala, when, in fact, he had a fraudulent passport issued by that nation bearing his photograph in the name of “Manuel Enrique Castillo Lopez,” the indictment alleges.

Posada is currently detained by DHS’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on administrative immigration violations. His initial court appearance in connection with the criminal charges is expected to take place early next week before a U.S. magistrate judge in the Western District of Texas.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment for the naturalization fraud count and five years imprisonment for each of the false statement counts.

This case was investigated by ICE. The prosecution is being handled by David B. Deitch and Paul Ahern, Trial Attorneys with the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The federal investigation of Posada continues.