Tax form imaging

"Maryland is the first state in the nation to process state income tax
returns using a pioneering imaging technology to capture, intelligently
interpret and manipulate data," says State Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein.

The tax imaging process transforms state income tax returns into
useable data by capturing video-type images of a document, storing the
image, converting a portion of it to data and processing the data as though it
had been manually entered by conventional data entry.

Maryland's new
imaging system will not
only save time and costs in
processing tax returns, but
it will also provide tax
officials greater access to
documents and improve
taxpayer service.

Auditors will be
able to correct errors
electronically, quickly
retrieve documents to
answer taxpayer inquiries
and even print a copy of the
return at the flick of a switch.
Different auditors can also
look at the same return
simultaneously.

Thanks to Maryland's pioneering imaging system, officials
like Robin Barnett-Jones in the State Comptroller's Office
can view complete Maryland income tax returns
electronically to correct errors, spot fraud or answer
taxpayer inquiries.

Another electronic verification feature helps to ensure the accurate
distribution of nearly $1.7 billion in local income tax revenue to Maryland's
24 subdivisions and 160 incorporated cities and towns. Maryland's tax
imaging system will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in processing costs
each year.