Make key provisions permanent
Dear Editor:
As a volunteer tax preparer I am spending my holidays brushing up on tax law and filing requirements so I can help working families file their taxes and receive the hard earned credits that they deserve. I learned about this opportunity a few years ago as a volunteer at United Way. I had recently retired and was looking for a way I could give back to the community. I found out that United Way recruits and trains volunteers for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, VITA. Although not a tax expert I am at ease in front of a computer and a quick learner.
Once trained (and certified by the IRS) VITA volunteers fan out into the community to over 33 community sites, including churches, schools, recreation centers, to prepare taxes for hard working families. We do this to both save the filing costs for those unable to afford it ($200-$300 average cost) and to make sure all filers claim the credits they deserve. Two credits that are often missed by deserving families are the Earned Income Tax Credit, EITC and the Child Tax Credit, CTC. The EITC approved by Congress in 1975 helps to offset social security taxes and provides an incentive to work. The CTC, enacted in 1997 provides a per child benefit for families to help offset the costs of raising a family. Both credits enable families to make ends meet and increase their financial stability. As an economist, I know these are among the most efficient ways to provide support.
Last year, in our tristate area over 700 volunteer preparers from VITA, AARP and Ohio Benefit Bank helped 19,793 families file returns resulting in $23.7 million dollars returned to the community. The average refund per filer was $1,200, quite a savings for a hard working family! I work at a number of our VITA sites over the tax season and can attest to the importance of this service. I have seen first hand how lives are transformed through these credits. Money received by families typically helps them to pay down debt, buy groceries, pay for medical bills or save for the future. One family I helped was unaware of the EITC, which saved them hundreds of dollars in taxes.
The continuation of the EITC and CTC is currently being debated in Congress and could expire at the end of 2017. I urge Senators Portman and Brown and Representatives Chabot and Wenstrup to make key provisions of the Earned Income Tax Credit, EITC and Child Tax Credit, CTC permanent. And for those of you looking for a rewarding way to give back I encourage you to volunteer with VITA. Go to www.makeworkpay.com/volunteer to find out how.
Susan Robinson, Community Volunteer
People count on this service
To the Editor:
As a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program site coordinator, I help low and moderate income families file their taxes, claim credits and get the refunds they have earned. I run two volunteer sites: at a faith-based non-profit organization that offers practical, social, and spiritual support to individuals and families; and one at my church. Most of my volunteers are people of faith who are drawn to this work because they understand how it helps low income, hardworking families save money and build income stability.
For volunteer site coordinators, VITA requires hard work and dedication. We certify in tax law, train and coordinate volunteers, identify and solve tax questions, handle software, computer outages and winter weather, and review each return prior to e-filing. Thanks to our diligent multi-step quality assurance process, a national IRS review of VITA/TCE sites found a 94% accuracy last year.
This work is very rewarding because we know are helping people meet their legal requirements and to receive refunds of their own withheld wages. We also help tax filers access the credits built into the tax code: the American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit to encourage and support education, and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which encourage and support working families. These credits increase the refunds our guests receive and make a big difference in household budgets.
We hear stories from the people we assist: filers who will use their refund to fix a failing car or a broken furnace; buy beds for the kids to sleep in; buy groceries and shoes for the kids, pay off utility bills, or move out of shelter or off a friends’ couch into an apartment. The Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit provide needed cash to families who struggle to balance multiple jobs, childcare and education. These credits are earned income based – they reward work.
We are concerned that key provisions of the EITC and CTC will expire at the end of 2017. In a world of financial uncertainty, people count on this money to budget for the year. We need these credits made permanent — and to be done so in a timely manner so that there is no uncertainty about the program. Congress is considering several “extenders” and tax credits this year, so it makes sense to include EITC and CTC now, long before the credits expire.
I am proud of the service we offer this community through our volunteer sites. We invite the Enquirer, and our Senators and Representatives to visit a tax site in February or March and see for themselves.
Jim Yuhas
Loveland, OH