We welcome Jonathan Njus, the new Director of Advocacy at the Center for Economic Progress, who is also the Co-Director of the National Community Tax Coalition.

Jonathan comes to the Center and NCTC with a commitment to social justice and a strong knowledge of our area of work and organizational focus. Most recently, he has been working as a consultant to non-governmental organizations in Hungary, where he and his wife have lived for the past year and a half. Previously he was director of Housing Advocacy at the Archdiocese of Chicago, pushing to create more affordable housing throughout the city. He also worked with the National Council of La Raza in Washington, DC during the late 90s, combating planned cuts in the EITC and researching and writing on issues of taxation and economic security with regard to Hispanic Americans. He has a Master's degree in public policy from the University of Chicago and grew up in Michigan. He is married and he and his wife are expecting their first child in June. He would welcome the opportunity to speak with you about how the Center and NCTC can help to further your advocacy work and can be reached directly at 312-630-0254.

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the appointment of David R. Williams as Director, Electronic Tax Administration and Refundable Credits. Williams most recently served as the IRS Director in charge of the Earned Income Tax Credit.  Williams has spoken several times at NCTC conferences, most recently at last year’s conference in Los Angeles.

In his new position, Williams will oversee not only the EITC and the child tax credit, but also the IRS electronic and on-line filing processes and procedures.  This includes the IRS sponsored private industry 'Free File' program which is expected to process over 3 million tax returns this year. As of March 13, almost 2.6 million taxpayers had already filed their returns using Free File.

NCTC staff recently heard from the Taxpayer Advocate's Office that the IRS is moving more and more towards creating a free on-line filing portal for people to file their tax returns. There has been mounting pressure for this in Congress, and the commercial on-line preparers have all partnered with Free File.  Even IRS Commissioner Mark Everson stated to Tax Notes that he saw free on-line filing moving towards becoming a reality soon.

Only seventy percent of U.S. taxpayers are eligible for Free File which requires that they have an adjusted gross income of $52,000 or less. The program is a partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance, a group of private sector tax preparation companies. In 1998, Congress set the IRS the goal of having 80% of all returns received electronically by 2007. As of March 23, almost 72 percent of all returns have been e-filed, compared to 68 percent for the same period last year.

The Coalition’s 6th biennial conference will be held in Denver, October 1-2, 2007. Mark your calendars now. Get training, learn from respected leaders, and network with colleagues in your field.

NCTC is seeking to assess the value and role of partnerships for local EITC, tax preparation and asset-building coalitions, campaigns and organizations so we can strengthen our growing and dynamic field nationally. Our intent is to promote scale and sustainability within the tax preparation and asset-building fields. To move in that direction we need to secure data and information from local and national organizations, municipalities and businesses.

This data will allow NCTC to analyze and assess the value and role of local and national partnerships and to determine what practices and approaches appear to leverage the greatest returns for communities, organizations and individuals.

Please assist us in completing this survey by answering all of the questions and providing the most relevant and recent data. We understand that some of the information may need to be treated with discretion, which we are committed to doing, but it is also our intent to promote the development and implementation of consistent practices and approaches so that our work can benefit the greatest number of low-income workers and their families. We will only be successful by having everyone’s participation and cooperation.

Please complete the survey.

Self-Employment Tax Organizer
This form is handed to self-employed taxpayers at intake; it collects detailed income and expense information to assist in preparing Schedule C. Provided by AccountAbility Minnesota. [PDF,610KB, posted 4/2/07]

Daycare Tax Organizer
This form is handed to self-employed daycare providers at intake; it collects detailed income and expense information to assist in preparing Schedule C. Provided by AccountAbility Minnesota. [PDF,610KB, posted 4/2/07]

Quirky little things —The Q Word, 03/27/07
Tips on what to do in TaxWise about EIC worksheet, question 7; 1099-MISC, box 7, non-employee compensation; 1099-G worksheet, unemployment benefits; and more. Advice provided by Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress. [PDF, 50KB, posted 3/13/07]

Taxes forChild Care Providers —The Q Word, 03/20/07
Most free tax preparation sites see clients who are child care providers.  Often they are new providers who have limited knowledge and awareness of what it means to be self employed.  Sometimes they have records, but often they have none. Advice provided by Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress. [PDF, 50KB, posted 3/13/07]

Uniform Definition of Child —The Q Word, 03/13/07
Walk through several brainteasers based on real situations seen at tax sites. Advice provided by Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress. [PDF, 50KB, posted 3/13/07]

Talk About the Kids—The Q Word, 03/06/07
Unravelling family situations and then correctly applying the uniform definition of a child tax law is one of a preparer's biggest challenges. Advice provided by Barbara DelBene, Senior Training Specialist at the Center for Economic Progress. [PDF, 70KB, posted 3/06/07]

Don't Forget to Backup Your Data
IRS Filing Season Reminder [PDF, 30KB, posted 3/7/07]