Internet Program Helps
Teens Learn about Taxes

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service and the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association today announced a joint project to help young people learn about the federal tax system. TAXinteractive (TAXi) is an electronic learning laboratory available on the Internet at http://www.irs.gov:80/taxi/.

"TAXi helps young people learn about their tax obligations through a program they can relate to." said Charles 0. Rossotti, Commissioner of Internal Revenue. "We think it's an exciting new addition to our Web site, and we appreciate the assistance of the Section of Taxation in helping make it happen."

TAXi is in an easy-to-read, teen-friendly format with various scenarios and a dictionary of tax terms. A "teachers' toolkit" provides teachers with resources to help integrate lessons about taxes in classroom settings. The program also includes instructions for downloading and installing Adobe Acrobat 3.0, which is required to view and print several of the items in the "toolkit."

"TAXi will help improve tax literacy among our young people," said Phillip Mann, Chair of the Section of Taxation. "It will help them in many situations -- day-to-day activities, planning to buy a car, filing taxes electronically, and even figuring out how much money they can expect to take home from a summer job."

TAXi builds on "Understanding Taxes," the IRS's successful educational program. "Understanding Taxes" provides educators with the teaching materials to help students understand their tax rights and responsibilities.

Scholastic Inc. of New York developed the editorial content for TAXi under contract with the Section of Taxation. Vector Research, Incorporated, and Boxtop International of Los Angeles helped develop the Web site.

The Section of Taxation joined with the IRS to produce the Internet program because of a mutual interest in educating taxpayers and promoting voluntary compliance. One of the goals of the Section of Taxation is improving the public understanding of, confidence in, and respect for the country's tax system.

For more information about the Section of Taxation, contact Christine Brunswick, 740 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005, or access its Web site at http://www.abanet.org/tax/. Users may also access TAXi from this Web site, as well as from the IRS's Web site at http://www.irs.gov.

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