The taxman cometh – but just a little later this year.

With April 15 falling on a Saturday, taxpayers can enjoy those

egg hunts and Easter hams this weekend and not worry about paying Uncle Sam until Monday.

The tax deadline has been extended through Monday, April 17. If you haven’t paid what you owe the government yet, don’t expect any late opening at local post offices Monday, however.

You’ll still need to make that trip to the local post office within normal office hours.

&uot;We’ll be closing at our normal time of 4:30 on Monday,&uot; Georgiana Postmistress Jane Godwin said. The same closing time holds true at the post offices in Greenville and Honoraville.

In McKenzie, the post office will actually close at 4 p.m., but the outside box will not be emptied until 4:15 p.m.

Tax preparers are all likely heaving a sigh of relief as their annual mission draws to a close.

Those using H & R Block’s services will find the Church Street office is open today from 9 until 5 for those picking up prepared returns and other needs. The office will also be open Monday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Donna Kimbro of K & M Tax Service in Greenville is already taking a well-deserved break. Her business phone offered a message on Friday to procrastinators: &uot;We are closed for the tax season…only call our cell phone number if it is a true emergency. We are not doing any more taxes this season.&uot;

If you’ve ever wondered whom we should blame for the government’s tight grasp on our money, Colleen Kelly of &uot;Knowledge News&uot; on the Internet knows the answer: blame on &uot;the little general.&uot;

Turns out Great Britain first levied a personal income tax of ten percent in 1799 in order to finance the war against Napoleon. Taxpayers hated the whole idea so much that, when the tax was repealed in 1816, the public demanded all records be destroyed (a top government official did so, but secretly kept copies).

War brought the ugly head of income tax rearing up once again in 1862, when Abraham Lincoln levied an income tax to helped finance the Union Army. Citizens were happy to see it abolished after the war.

A peace-time income tax law in the 1890s was eventually declared unconstitutional, but by 1913, a new tax law was in place – and taxes, like death, have been a part of life ever since.

At first, income tax made up less than five percent of federal revenues. By 1940, it was 20 percent, and by 1970, 70 percent.

How much does Uncle Sam depend on Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Public these days? According to Kelly’s Internet article, 43 percent of federal revenues come from income taxes, both personal and corporate. Social Security, Medicare, unemployment taxes and other retirement taxes make up 32 percent. Seven percent comes from excise, custom, estate, gift and other taxes. As for other 17 percent , Uncle Same borrows it, of course.