A tax refund ... but the client cried.The short, neatly dressed woman was in this country for only a few months. She and several of her children had been granted asylum. English was not her native language but she could already carry on a conversation. She was bright and ready to make the most of what our country has to offer, but eking eke 1 tr.v. eked, ek·ing, ekes 1. To supplement with great effort. Used with out: eked out an income by working two jobs. 2. out a living was difficult at minimum-wage jobs. With few marketable skills, the woman had earned less than $10,000 during the time she was in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . For tax return preparation, she came to a volunteer program headed by CPAs and lawyers. When she learned that she would get the maximum earned income Sources of money derived from the labor, professional service, or entrepreneurship of an individual taxpayer as opposed to funds generated by investments, dividends, and interest. credit--almost $4,000--she broke into tears ... tears of happiness since the extra money meant a more decent life for her family's new start. This story is just one of the thousands handled by 10 similar programs across the nation. All are separate, independent groups; some are among the 102 Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) partially funded by Congress under the Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code is the body of law that codifies all federal tax laws, including income, estate, gift, excise, alcohol, tobacco, and employment taxes. These laws constitute title 26 of the U.S. Code (26 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq. . All the programs need volunteers each year. Even the few hours busy CPAs can devote can make a big difference. You might have the pleasure of helping a client like the woman described above. You could advise a client about using a Roth IRA Roth IRA An individual retirement plan that bears many similarities to the Traditional IRA. Contributions are never deductible, and qualified distributions are tax-free. A qualified distribution is one that is taken at least five years after the taxpayer established his/her first . Little is routine. Much is challenging. Volunteers never find the time. They make the time because they know the work is rewarding and helps their communities. It also is an important aspect of professional responsibility. Accountants and auditors who do not regularly work with taxes are welcome. There are training programs and on-site support. The ability to speak one or more foreign languages would be very helpful. If you do not live or work in one of the areas covered by any of the following groups (listed east to west) you can send an e-mail to ebbets16@yahoo.com saying where you would like to volunteer. If there is an LITC LITC Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (IRS) LITC Louisiana International Trade Center (University of New Orleans) LITC Leave It To Chance in your area, they will let you know how to contact it so you can ask if you can help. Also, the VITA program mn by the IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws. always can use experienced CPAs; just contact the coordinator at your local IRS office. Another way to volunteer, whether for tax season or to offer accounting and audit help to non-profits throughout the year, is by contacting the Clearinghouse for Volunteer Accounting Services at www.cvas-ca.org. The CVAS CVAS Controlled Vehicle Access System CVAS Configuration Verification Accounting System (NASA) Web site has national postings, and opportunities can be searched in several ways. Boston: Community Tax Aid of Boston, Inc.; 617/572-7983; ctaboston@accountant.com W. Hartford, Conn.: Community Accounting Aid and Services, Inc.; 860/570-9113; caas@sba.uconn.edu; Web: www.ctcaas.org New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. : Community Tax Aid, Inc.; 718/445-3271; CTAnyc@myrealbox.com; Web: http://communities.msn. com/ctanyc Baltimore: Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service; 410/539-6800 x203; mina@mvlslaw.org Washington, DC: Community Tax Aid, Inc.; 703/318-2122; CTAvol@aol.com; Web: www.gwscpa.org/cta Detroit: Accounting Aid Society; 313/647-9620; taxassistance@ mindspring.com; Web: www.accountingaidsociety.org Illinois: Center for Law and Human Services; 312/252-0280; volunteer@centerforlaw.org; Web: www.centerforlaw.org Minnesota: AccountAbility Minnesota; 651/287-0187; schwim@mtn.org; Web: www.accountabilitymn.org Colorado: Colorado CPA (Computer Press Association, Landing, NJ) An earlier membership organization founded in 1983 that promoted excellence in computer journalism. Its annual awards honored outstanding examples in print, broadcast and electronic media. The CPA disbanded in 2000. Society; 303/773-2877; gmantz@ cocpa.org San Francisco: Tax-Aid, Inc.; 415/281-8080; tax-aid@andersen.com |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion