VITA-a vital service

The IRS provides about $8 million to assist programs that provide free tax preparation services to low-income taxpayers.  This year, the IRS announced that it had applications from 360 organizations seeking $30 million in matching funds--obviously much more than was available.  The funds are intended to enable the programs to provide services in both urban and rural areas, to help them file electronically, to improve quality controls/accuracy of returns, and to enhance training.  The IRS release IR-2009-104, includes a list of the recipients of the VITA funding throughout the US.

I know that students that I have taught volunteer through the Accounting Aid Society that receives VITA funding in Detroit.  I hope I taught them well...

Comments

[Mike]

Linda,

Just curious, how many of these are ACORN run VITA programs?

[LindaMBeale]

look at the list and figure it out for yourself. Very few, I suspect.

[Gary]

Seems like another way to waste taxpayer money. Giving it to accountants...

[LindaMBeale]

Not quite "giving it to accountants". The money is supposed to be used for expenditures that have real impact in terms of helping low-income taxpayers comply with their tax liabilities and claim appropriate tax refunds.

[Vicky Billington]

Accounting Aid Society is the largest provider of free income tax preparation services for low and moderate income households in Michigan. Each year, millions of dollars in tax refunds are unclaimed by those who need them the most. Accounting Aid helps struggling families prepare taxes and recover more than $14 million in refunds and credits each year.

This year we served 13,600 clients in southeast Michigan and returned $14.8 million -- thanks to 800 volunteers.

In this way, we help families stay in their homes, keep their utilities turned on, put food on the table, and save for the future.

Come join us and volunteer! We train all of our volunters, who then have to be certified by the IRS. Sign up for training online at www.accountingaidsociety.org. Classes start in January. One volunteer hour = $1,025 for each client this year.

Your support of our work is one important way to achieve regional growth for a stronger Michigan.

-Vicky Billington
Communications Coordinator
for Accounting Aid Society

[Stephen V.]

Thanks for this Linda.

One of the justifications for VITA funding is to reduce the (estimated) $12bn (that's with a 'B') in UNclaimed refundable EITC CRedit per year. Interestingly, this is roughly equivalent to the estimated amount of EITC fraud per year.
Don't know what the administration costs of the EITC are, but the UNclaimed $$ represents a lot of folks who cannot afford the services of tax professionals.
Part of my argument as to why the gov. is not an efficient re-distributor of wealth--let us not go there!

[LindaMBeale]

Well, the fact that the government supports the VITA clinics to ensure that lower-income folks can take advantage of legal provisions intended for them seems to be a good indicator that the government can be an efficient redistributor of wealth, in ways that we want it to be.

[LindaMBeale]

Thanks, Vicky, for sharing information about how the Detroit VITA program works. I hope you get a good number of volunteers.