Former Hendry County deputy found guilty after knocking handcuffed man unconscious1 killed in Collier County crash, FHP investigating
Former Hendry County deputy found guilty after knocking handcuffed man unconscious A former Hendry County Sheriff’s Office deputy could face prison time for his use of unreasonable force on a man who was being held for a domestic violence call.
1 killed in Collier County crash, FHP investigating The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a single-vehicle crash on I-75 at the 97-mile marker in Collier County.
Lehigh Acres Man arrested for crashing into Lehigh Acres duplex, damages several vehicles The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of crashing his vehicle into a Lehigh Acres duplex.
Pedestrian killed while attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash involving a pedestrian attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway in Lee County.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm with a few showers this Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking the continuing stretch of warmer conditions along with a few rain showers this Monday.
DeSoto County teen faces sentencing for killing teen at fair A teenager will face sentencing Monday for shooting and killing another teenager at the DeSoto County Fair.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Puppy Bowl highlights shelter’s need for loving homes The Cape Coral Animal Shelter hosted its third annual Puppy Bowl late Sunday morning. The event aimed to highlight puppies in need of homes.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Car crashes into Lehigh duplex A car crashed into a duplex early Sunday morning in Lehigh Acres causing confusion for the building’s residents.
WINK News Photos of the Week Feb. 2 – Feb. 8 This Week’s edition features live music, some familiar faces wearing red and a fabulous charity event
FORT MYERS Colonial Boulevard continuous flow intersection opens Sunday in Fort Myers Drivers along Interstate 75 near Colonial Boulevard can expect changes soon.
the weather authority Sun and clouds with a stray shower possible The Weather Authority says sun and clouds overhead will lead to another day with above-average temperatures.
FORT MYERS LCSO offering youth boxing program The Lee County Sheriff’s Office youth boxing program is your kid’s golden ticket to mastering the art of self-defense.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend armed 13-year-old The man who helped apprehend an armed 13-year-old spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
Former Hendry County deputy found guilty after knocking handcuffed man unconscious A former Hendry County Sheriff’s Office deputy could face prison time for his use of unreasonable force on a man who was being held for a domestic violence call.
1 killed in Collier County crash, FHP investigating The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a single-vehicle crash on I-75 at the 97-mile marker in Collier County.
Lehigh Acres Man arrested for crashing into Lehigh Acres duplex, damages several vehicles The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man accused of crashing his vehicle into a Lehigh Acres duplex.
Pedestrian killed while attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly crash involving a pedestrian attempting to cross Hancock Bridge Parkway in Lee County.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm with a few showers this Monday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking the continuing stretch of warmer conditions along with a few rain showers this Monday.
DeSoto County teen faces sentencing for killing teen at fair A teenager will face sentencing Monday for shooting and killing another teenager at the DeSoto County Fair.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Puppy Bowl highlights shelter’s need for loving homes The Cape Coral Animal Shelter hosted its third annual Puppy Bowl late Sunday morning. The event aimed to highlight puppies in need of homes.
LEHIGH ACRES Caught on Camera: Car crashes into Lehigh duplex A car crashed into a duplex early Sunday morning in Lehigh Acres causing confusion for the building’s residents.
WINK News Photos of the Week Feb. 2 – Feb. 8 This Week’s edition features live music, some familiar faces wearing red and a fabulous charity event
FORT MYERS Colonial Boulevard continuous flow intersection opens Sunday in Fort Myers Drivers along Interstate 75 near Colonial Boulevard can expect changes soon.
the weather authority Sun and clouds with a stray shower possible The Weather Authority says sun and clouds overhead will lead to another day with above-average temperatures.
FORT MYERS LCSO offering youth boxing program The Lee County Sheriff’s Office youth boxing program is your kid’s golden ticket to mastering the art of self-defense.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral man speaks on helping apprehend armed 13-year-old The man who helped apprehend an armed 13-year-old spoke on the incident.
NAPLES Naples Cars on Fifth event fuels $2M for local charity efforts For over two decades, car enthusiasts in Southwest Florida have gathered on Fifth Avenue in Naples.
FILE – In this April 13, 2014, file photo shows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters building in Washington. Tuesday, April 18, 2017, is Tax Day, that dreaded day when millions of procrastinators rush to fulfill their civic duty by filing state and federal tax returns. But for most, it’s not that bad. Sure, the forms are complicated and yes, there is math. But tax season also generates about $300 billion in refunds, a significant boost to the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File) WASHINGTON (AP) Tuesday is Tax Day, that dreaded day when millions of procrastinators rush to fulfill their civic duty by filing state and federal tax returns. But for most, it’s not that bad. Sure, the forms are complicated and yes, there is math. But tax season also generates about $300 billion in refunds, a significant boost to the U.S. economy. Five things to know about Tax Day: Most get refunds The IRS so far has processed 101 million tax returns from individuals and about 80 percent have qualified for refunds. The average refund is $2,851, an increase of $53 over last year. By the end of filing season, the IRS expects to process 150 million returns. That’s after millions file for automatic six-month extensions. Chances of getting audited are slim The number of people audited by the IRS in 2016 dropped for the sixth straight year, to just over 1 million. That’s less than 1 percent of filers. The last time so few people were audited was 2004. Since then, the U.S. has added about 30 million people. The IRS blames budget cuts as money for the agency shrank from $12.2 billion in 2010 to $11.2 billion last year. But rich people beware. The higher your income, the more likely you are to be audited. Agents audited 5.8 percent of returns that reported more than $1 million in income. Returns down, refunds delayed Tax season got off to a slow start because the IRS delayed refunds for more than 40 million low-income families as part of the agency’s efforts to fight identity theft. The delays affected families claiming the earned income tax credit and the additional child tax credit. The tax breaks are geared to benefit the working poor, and many families claim both. The tax filing season started Jan. 23. But a new law required the IRS to delay tax refunds for people claiming these credits until Feb. 15. The delay was designed to give the agency more time to screen the returns for fraud. Throughout the tax filing season, the number of tax returns processed by the IRS has been lower than last year. As of April 7, the IRS had received 104 million tax returns and processed 101 million. Both numbers are down about 3.5 percent from last year. People illegally in U.S. pay taxes There is a common myth that people in the U.S. illegally don’t pay taxes. But data from both the IRS and the Social Security Administration says otherwise. Yes, some work in the underground economy. But in 2015, the Social Security Administration estimated that immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally paid $100 billion in Social Security payroll taxes over the previous decade. They paid the taxes even though few will ever be able to collect benefits. How does Social Security know when it receives taxes from immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally? One way is by tracking reported wages in which the Social Security number does not match the name the agency has on file. Some of these are clerical errors or unreported name changes. But the agency estimates that a majority of the wages come from immigrants who have made-up Social Security numbers or used someone else’s. Also, the IRS has issued more than 20 million Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) to foreigners. The ITINs are supposed to be used by foreigners who have some form of U.S. income, and therefore owe U.S. taxes. However, the tax agency believes that many of them are used by people who are working in the U.S. illegally. Tax Day isn’t much of a deadline if you’re due a refund The IRS doesn’t like to talk about it, but penalties for filing late federal tax returns apply only to people who owe money. The penalty is a percentage of what you owe. If you owe nothing, there is no penalty. But it doesn’t make much sense to file late if you are owed a refund. And beware – if you have unpaid taxes, the late fees add up quickly. The failure-to-file penalty is generally 5 percent of your unpaid tax bill for every month, or part of a month, you are late. It kicks in on April 19. In general, the maximum penalty is 25 percent of your original tax bill. There also is a penalty for failing to pay your tax bill, separate from the penalty for failing to file at all, but it’s much smaller. That’s because the IRS wants you to file a return even if you don’t have enough money to pay your bill. The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5 percent of your unpaid taxes for every month, or part of a month, you don’t pay.