E-filing keeps rising

If early tax filers are any indication, a record number of taxpayers could be filing electronically this year.

Internal Revenue Service officials this week reported that electronic filing is up 8 percent, or more than 2 million returns, compared with the same period a year ago.

Nearly 29 million electronic returns had been filed through Feb. 20. The number of taxpayers filing their returns from a personal computer has increased by 23 percent, or 6.6 million returns, IRS officials reported. Personal computers, in this case, refer to taxpayers' home computers and not those in tax preparers' or lawyers' offices.

The tax agency also announced this week the hiring of Bert DuMars, an electronic commerce industry expert, to replace Terry Lutes as director of electronic tax administration.

DuMars' most recent position was with Trend Micro Inc., a security company, where he was director of its e-Business Group. Before that, he held marketing positions at Intel Corp. and Dell Inc.

In his new role at the IRS, DuMars will be responsible for the agency's electronic filing programs and for all electronic information exchanges among the IRS and individual taxpayers, businesses and tax practitioners.

DuMars holds a bachelor's degree in history from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., and a master's in business administration from the University of Michigan.

Lutes, who recently was promoted, is now associate chief information officer for IRS Information Technology Services.