HONOLULU, Hawaii - As part of Governor Benjamin Cayetano's initiative to have State agencies offer timesaving electronic services, the Department of Taxation has launched its Internet tax filing system at the State's official website, www.eHawaiiGov.org. The e-Filing system was developed for the Department of Taxation by the Hawaii Information Consortium Inc., a subsidiary of eGovernment provider NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) that manages eHawaiiGov on behalf of the State of  Hawaii.

Individuals, Corporations and S Corporations, or Estates and Trusts who file  Estimated Tax payments can now take advantage of the Department of Taxation's Internet tax filing system by e-filing their tax forms and payments for the second  installment period, due on or before June 20, 2001.  Form N-1, Declaration of Estimated Income Tax for Individuals, Form N-3, Declaration of Estimated Income Tax for Corporations and S Corporations, and Form N-5, Declaration of Estimated Income Tax for Estates and Trusts, are three of the first group of selected tax forms available for use online at the eHawaiiGov website.

A minimal $2.50 processing fee will be added for those who pay their estimated taxes over the Internet.  To process online estimated tax payments, all that is needed is a checking account. Tax filings which require no payments are free.

The website has numerous security features to safeguard information. All personal information traveling between the taxpayer's computer and the eHawaiiGov server is encrypted with SSL (Secured Sockets Layer) and sent to the eHawaiiGov server.  To further protect confidential tax information such as the Social Security Number or Federal Employers Identification Number which is part of the estimated tax payment voucher, the taxpayer's computer is not allowed to store any confidential tax information on the hard drive in the event an unauthorized person gains access to the computer.  In addition, account information is not saved as part of the registration profile. 

Taxpayers interested in obtaining more information about e-Filing may call the Department's Taxpayer Services Branch at (808) 587-4242 or toll-free at 1-800-222-3229.