[January 24, 2012] Oklahoma won't issue paper tax refunds checks, only debit cards Tweet Jan 24, 2012 (Tulsa World - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Tax Commission will no longer issue paper refund checks. Instead, the Tax Commission will issue refunds on debit cards if the taxpayer chooses not to have a refund deposited directly into a checking or savings account, said Paula Ross, a spokeswoman for the commission. "Taxpayers can use the convenience of a debit card for making purchases, paying bills or recipients will have access to cash by using a teller for cash withdrawal at any MasterCard member bank or credit union within Oklahoma without incurring a fee," Ross said. "Cardholders with proper identification can simply present their card at the MasterCard member bank or credit union teller window and request a withdrawal of funds." Last year, the agency deposited 622,788 refunds directly and issued 477,240 paper checks for refunds, she said. House Bill 1086, passed last session, provides that payments from the state treasury be issued electronically. A fee of $1.50 per month will deducted from the refund amount after 60 days of inactivity on the debit card, according to the Tax Commission. If the card is used periodically, no fee will be assessed, Ross said. The vendor administering the program -- Affiliated Computer Service -- will keep the fee, she said, adding that Affiliated Computer Service offered the lowest fee. Roger Beverage, president of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, said: "The bottom line for people to remember when talking about the fees is that the system that enables the process to work did not just fall off of a tree. People spent a lot of money developing the system." Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, was the House author of the measure. "I don't know that when we passed the legislation we ever thought about time limits on cashing out those cards," he said. "It is not something we really focused on because we knew the savings would be considerable." The state expects to save millions annually by not issuing checks, Murphey said, but no dollar amount was immediately available. Taxpayers who opt for a debit-card refund will be charged 75 cents for transferring the balance on the card to a savings or checking account, the Oklahoma Tax Commission said. For married couples filing jointly, each spouse will receive a debit card. Barbara Hoberock 405-528-2465 [email protected] ___ (c)2012 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) Visit Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.) at www.tulsaworld.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]