Congressman launchs free tax program
Mayor, Congressional staffers at EITC kickoff
IRS tax forums scheduled for summer
Affiliates in the news
Program Profile: Houston ABC, taxes for hurricane survivors
Advocacy update
Job openings
New resources

Congressman launches free tax program

Congressman Elijah Cummings and Baltimore CASH Campaign Director Joanna Ramani. (Photo provided by Baltimore CASH Campaign.)

Recently, the Baltimore CASH Campaign had the pleasure of hosting U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD-7) at one of its VITA sites. Rep. Cummings was very open to attending the site and promoting awareness of the EITC. He illustrated his support for the EITC by calling into a local radio station in Baltimore to help promote the EITC, and then went a step further and gave his office's phone number on the air so that individuals can call and ask questions around this issue. Rep. Cummings’ appearance at the VITA site grabbed quite a bit of media attention. The local NBC and ABC affiliates made an appearance as well as reporters from the Baltimore Sun newspaper. NBC and ABC both aired the appearance of Rep. Cummings and helped the Baltimore CASH Campaign with publicity. The Baltimore CASH Campaign plans on hosting the IRS Commissioner, Mark Everson, later in the season.

Mayor, Congressional staffers at EITC kickoff

Red River Community EITC Coalition gathered plenty of political support for its free tax preparation program kickoff on January 9 in Moorhead, Minn. Not only did it have Mark Voxland, the Mayor of Moorhead, on the program, but also present were Toni Merdan, staffer from U.S. Congressman Collin Peterson's (D-MN-07) office, and Roger Ceynowa, representing Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND). The local coalition includes National Community Tax Coalition affiliate Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership.

Photo: Mayor John Voxland (Photo provided by Lakes & Prairies)

 

IRS tax forums scheduled for summer

The IRS has announced it will host a series of six tax forums this summer, where the latest news and information from the IRS will be presented over three days of seminars for the benefit of tax professionals.

In addition to the seminars, the forums also feature a two-day expo with representatives from the IRS and tax, financia,l and business communities offering their products, services, and expertise.

The locations and dates of the 2006 tax forums are:

• Anaheim, Calif. -- June 27-29
• Chicago, Ill. -- July 11-13
• Atlanta, Ga. -- July 25-27
• Orlando, Fla. -- Aug. 1-3
• Las Vegas, Nev. -- Aug. 22-24
• New York, N.Y. -- Aug. 29-31

For additional information and registration updates, visit www.taxforuminfo.com.

 

Coalition affiliation dues

Do you value scholarships for tax classes? Enjoy discounts on our annual conference and trainings? Desire to have your free tax preparation program listed in our online Program Locator? If so, you want to ensure you have paid your affiliation dues to the National Community Tax Coalition. Fill out our online form now and send the nominal fee.

 

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100 low-income taxpayers will get free refund anticipation loans

Felicia Lott and Stacye Ballard said they don't use their federal income-tax refunds for nice vacations or fancy cars. They pay bills. Waiting for a tax refund can take 10 to 14 days or longer, though, and "10 to 14 days is a long time if you needed that money yesterday," Ballard said.

Last year, Lott and Ballard got refund anticipation loans from a tax preparer. They got their money the next day but were charged $406 and $251, respectively. This year, they found out that they qualify for the same loans—but without the fees—after they read a flier advertising free tax services at the Plymouth Christian Youth Center in north Minneapolis. Read the full story featuring AccountAbility Minnesota's pilot program of free RALs.

 

Low-income residents get tax help in New Hampshire

Cary Gladstone of Casey Family Services, an organization that assists children and families, has been offering a tax-help program in Franklin, N.H. for the past four years.

Meeting at the Twin Rivers Intergenerational Program Center, Gladstone and volunteers who are certified as volunteer tax preparers help taxpayers determine whether they are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The service also provides education and services for managing debt, buying a new home, investing, and other financial services.

This story ran in the Laconia Citizen (NH) on February 13.

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Houston ABC: Taxes for hurricane survivors

Two hundred thousand survivors of Hurricane Katrina evacuated to Houston, Texas. How will they have their taxes done? What steps has Houston ABC, the local free tax preparation program, taken to meet this unprecedented demand, and the need to deal with property losses on tax returns? Read the full story.

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Congressional Outreach Campaign: An opportunity to take action

As of February 28th, 17 members of Congress have visited National Community Tax Coalition affiliate tax sites, experiencing firsthand the vital tax services that our organizations provide. If you have not yet invited a member of Congress to your tax site, now is a good time since there are seven weeks left before the end of tax season!

In order to make this as easy as possible, you can click here for all the materials you need to invite your member, including their contact info and a sample letter.

If you have contacted a member of Congress, thank you so much for your effort and please let us know who you have contacted and how it went by clicking here.

If you have any questions or are in need of assistance, please feel free to contact Susan Raphael at 312-630-0286, or via e-mail at sraphael@centerforprogress.org

 

National Community Tax Coalition hoping to generate federal funding for free tax preparation

The Coalition may have found a Congressional champion to circulate a sign-on letter in support of federal funding for free tax preparation programs like yours. We will likely circulate an advocacy alert this week asking you to contact your Senators to sign on to the letter. More information to follow very soon!

 

New Fed. Chairman supports EITC

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said recently that tax credits might be a better way to boost the income of working-class Americans than raising the minimum wage, which he said lowers overall employment.

"One might consider alternative ways of helping working-class Americans—for example, the earned income tax credit which delivers money to working families without necessarily the employment effect."

 

IRS spared cuts in President’s budget

The IRS should not need to carry out major service cuts, as its overall budget remained the same in the President’s 2007 proposal. Read more details in the Treasury news release and the FY 2007 Budget in Brief.

 

Coalition affiliates express concern over IRS and DHS (formerly INS) sharing data

Members of the National Community Tax Coalition’s Immigrant Taxpayer Working Group sent a letter February 15 to the House Ways and Means Committee's Oversight and Social Security subcommittees. The groups expressed opposition to proposals that would allow the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share confidential information about immigrant taxpayers. The letter, coordinated by the Consumer Federation of America, was signed by representatives of

• Center for Economic Progress
• Consumer Federation of America
• Consumers Union
• National Consumer Law Center
• National Council of La Raza
• National Employment Law Project, and
• National Immigration Law Center

Click here for a copy of the letter.

National Community Tax Coalition Requests Congressional RAL Study be vigorous

The National Community Tax Coalition signed on to a letter with the National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, U.S. PIRG, and Children’s Defense Fund requesting that a study of Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) commissioned by Congress address serious questions about the IRS' role in facilitating RALs and the level of hardship and abuses created by RALs. Click here for a copy of the letter.

 

Coalition opposes IRS refund freezes

The National Community Tax Coalition strongly opposes the IRS Refund Freezes revealed in the National Taxpayer Advocate’s report and subsequently in the national media last month.

IRS Commissioner Everson recently announced changes to the program, including notification of taxpayers that their refunds are frozen and speeding up processing times. He did not, however, address the overtargeting of EITC taxpayers for refund freezes.

Click here to find the Coalition's estimates of EITC refund freezes in your state and here for the Coalition's position on refund freezes.

 

 

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Clinical Teaching Fellows

Villanova University School of Law is seeking applications for two
Clinical Teaching Fellows to work in its Clinical Program from July 2006 through July 2007, with a possibility of extension to July 2008. One Fellow will co-teach the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services (CARES). The other Fellow will co-teach the Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic. Inquiries about the position
can be made to Beth Lyon at 610-519-6417, Marisa Cianciarulo at
610-519-5622, or J.C. Lore at 610-519-3216.

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Tax preparation quality issues

• The Q Word [DOC, 25KB, posted 2/28/06]
  Comments on quality issues gleaned from experiences at the tax preparation sites last week by Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress. This week: TaxWise Tricks: Schedule EIC, Form 2441, W-2, Override, Diagnostics. Provided by the National Community Tax Coalition.

• The Q Word [DOC, 25KB, posted 2/21/06]
  Comments on quality issues gleaned from experiences at tax preparation sites last week by Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress. This week: No Overrides on TaxWise, Sales Tax Deduction, Reporting Tax Preparers, Tip Income. Provided by the National Community Tax Coalition.

• The Q Word [DOC, 25KB, posted 2/14/06]
  Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress, provides nuggets and hints gleaned from recent experiences at tax preparation sites. The topic this week is other income documents aside from W-2s. Provided by the National Community Tax Coalition.

• The Q Word [DOC, 25KB, posted 2/7/06]
  Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress, provides nuggets and hints gleaned from recent experiences at the tax preparation sites. The topic this week is Uniform Definition of Child: Rules, Process, and Examples. Provided by the National Community Tax Coalition.

Hurricane survivor taxes

• Extended Time to Claim Losses on Prior Year Returns [DOC, 130KB, posted 2/14/06]
  Survivors of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Wilma wishing to claim disaster-related losses on their prior year federal income tax return will have until October 16, 2006, to make this choice. Press release from the IRS.

• VRPP Katrina Tax Relief Training for 2005 [PPT, 1MB, posted 2/7/06]
  The IRS has developed a PowerPoint training document that briefly covers the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act.

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