MasterCard, Official Payments Offer Lower Fee On Tax Payments

"Tax preparation and payment can be a daunting task, so we have teamed with Official Payments Corp. to make the process more convenient and cost-efficient for MasterCard cardholders," said Donna Johnson, vice president of New Markets at MasterCard International. "Cardholders enjoy the ease, security and rewards opportunities that come with using payment cards to pay taxes, and are choosing to do so at an increasing rate. With this in mind, we set out to put together a program that gives taxpayers even more incentive to settle their taxes online with MasterCard."

"It gives us great pleasure to join with our long-standing partner MasterCard in providing this exclusive opportunity for the benefit of federal taxpayers," said James R. Weaver, Tier's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Every year taxpayers nationwide rely on Official Payments Corp. to provide them with the easiest, fastest and most secure way to pay federal, state and local taxes."

To participate in this program, taxpayers must make a federal personal income tax payment online using a MasterCard(R) card at www.officialpayments.com/mcfeeoffer.jsp. A specially reduced 1.99 percent convenience fee will automatically be applied (reduced from the standard 2.49 percent). The offer is valid only for online payments made between January 1 and April 17, 2006. For complete details, including additional terms and conditions that may apply, please visit http://www.mastercard.com/2006tax.