IRS Wins Award for Telefile
Promotion Campaign

WASHINGTON - The Public Relations Society of America has presented its Silver Anvil Award to the Internal Revenue Service and Ketchum Public Relations for the 1997 promotional campaign, "TeleFile, Ten Minute Taxes." The Silver Anvil is awarded to campaigns that meet the highest standards of public relations programming.

In addition to the Silver Anvil Award, the IRS has received the Innovations in American Government Award from The Ford Foundation and the Public Service Excellence Award from the Public Service Roundtable for TeleFile.

The IRS and Ketchum worked together to build partnerships with businesses and associations, promote TeleFile to prospective users, and increase awareness through national and local media efforts. The promotion helped increase the number of returns filed through TeleFile from 2.8 million in 1996 to 4.7 million in 1997, an increase of more than 60 percent.

"We are pleased but not surprised that TeleFile is becoming so popular," said Charles 0. Rossotti, Commissioner of Internal Revenue. "People who have used TeleFile tell us how convenient telephone filing can be. We expect the number of TeleFilers to continue to increase every year."

TeleFile is the IRS's file-by-phone program. It lets eligible taxpayers file simple returns in a ten-minute phone call and allows direct deposit of refunds to the taxpayers' bank accounts. Small businesses can also use TeleFile for their employment tax returns. TeleFile is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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