Checks arrive at wrong address

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/011/nation/Sales_tax_rebate_checks_arrive:.shtml

Sales tax rebate checks arrive at wrong addresses By Associated Press, 1/11/2000 19:40 MADISON, Wis. (AP) First, Wisconsin residents discarded their sales tax rebate checks because the postcard covers looked like junk mail.

Now, the postcards' claim that ''It's Your Money!'' may be a lie.

Norwest Bank, which mailed 2.5 million rebate checks starting last week, sent about 7,500 checks to the wrong addresses in several communities because of a printing error, state Revenue Secretary Cate Zeuske said.

The error was discovered through calls to the state's rebate hotline, which was set up to handle calls from people who may have thrown away the checks because of their deceptive postcard appearance, Zeuske said.

Norwest spokeswoman Sue Keyser said the bank has identified all of the taxpayers who received the wrong checks and will send a letter containing an apology, a gift and a postage-paid envelope so people can return the checks to the state.

The state will then send the checks to their rightful owners.

The sales tax rebate checks total about $700 million and are part of a $1 billion tax relief package in the state budget.

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 11, 2000