CompuServe, the commercial online service, is sending out checks to all New York state customers who paid CompuServe fees before March 1999. The checks are for New York State Sales taxes that CompuServe collected and remitted to the state of New York for monthly subscription and usage fees.
CompuServe stopped collecting those taxes in March 1999, after being informed by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance that they were exempt from collection responsibilities. They’re now distributing the checks as a tax refund.
If you were a CompuServe member in New York State before March 1999, you are most likely entitled to this refund. However, if you stopped using CompuServe, CompuServe is mailing the checks to whatever address they had for you when you cancelled the service. We’re attempting to find out what folks who are no longer at their previous address should do, but we’ve no answer so far.
Thanks to Sandee Cohen, author of “Fireworks 4 Visual Quickstart Guide,” (due soon), “FreeHand 9 Visual Quickstart Guide,” “InDesign 1/1.5 Visual Quickstart Guide,” and more for the heads-up on this news item.