The nation's tax offices were packed to overflowing yesterday as tardy taxpayers rushed to file their returns.
From early morning, people were queuing outside tax offices around the country.
At noon yesterday, officials said that there were still many hundreds of thousands of applications that had yet to be filed.
In order to meet the last minute rush, tax offices stayed open until 7pm and the deadline for filing via the Internet was extended until midnight.
As of Monday, officials estimated that there were 1.62 million people who had not yet filed.
The good news for those who failed to file yesterday is that a delay of a day or two will not incur a fine.
However, late tax returns must be filed at a tax office and processed manually.
Internet and postal returns will not be accepted by taxation officers.
Moreover, returns that have been filed late will only be processed at the district in which a taxpayer has his or her household registration.
The Internet offered considerable convenience for taxpayers this year, and at 3pm yesterday, 1.63 million returns had been filed using this option.
Tax officials added that people who file incorrect returns or who fail to list earnings should act quickly to remedy the errors to avoid the possibility of paying a fine.
Meanwhile, a Presidential Office spokesman yesterday said that tax-reform proposals unveiled on Monday by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) were aimed at achieving fiscal balance and did not violate any of his campaign promises.
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