Students assist city residents receive $1 million in tax rebates
Daina Amorosano
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News
In yet another Union-Schenectady alliance, economics majors from the service learning-class, "Income Tax Policy & Practice," have for the fourth year in a row run a free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site at Union's Kenney Community Center.
This year, though, the site, which opened for business on Thursday, January 24, has broken the million-dollar mark in total tax refunds, not to mention saved clients tens of thousands of dollars in preparers' fees.
Overseen by Economics Professor Mary O'Keeffe, eight senior student volunteers work evenings Monday through Thursday to prepare tax returns for low to moderate-income families in Schenectady. The eight students, Ashley Braniecki, Fengguan Chen, Allison Dantus, Sarah Ehle, Thomas Haynes, Stephen Walker, Christopher Walkley and Alex Zani, are all IRS-certified, after having studied over winter break and taken the IRS Basic Certification Exam on the first day of class.
Students have become familiarized with specific circumstances, including social security and disability, and depending upon the specific circumstances of the clients, they are directed to the appropriate student volunteer. The program enables families with annual household incomes of less than $37,000 to have their tax returns filed at no charge.
Using e-filing, the electronic method of transmitting tax returns directly to the IRS, student volunteers submit tax returns, and refunds are sent back in a swift ten days, significantly faster than the traditional six to eight week wait.
For the low-income families VITA serves, these expedited refunds make a significant difference and are much needed and appreciated. In addition, these refunds make more than just an immediate difference. For a typical client, who can be generalized as a single parent bringing in an average income of $14,000, the several-thousand dollar refund the parent receives raises his or her family above the poverty line.
Union's program has been praised by the IRS, United Way and other networks of organizations for its work, and is held up as a successful model of volunteer income tax assistance for other colleges.
Assistant Director for Community Outreach at Union, Angela Blair, notes that "The help to Schenectady has been tremendous. I live in Schenectady, and I see and talk to a lot of the people that come here. It is so encouraging to people to know that there is a place to get taxes done with friendly people and without the outrageous fee."
The clients, though, are not the only people benefiting from the VITA program. Students have gained hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of public finance concepts. It is O'Keeffe's hope that "the students will take with them a deeper understanding of the problems of low-income families and senior citizens. Besides my hopes for the program's continued service to the community, I hope that this rewarding experience will continue to teach students how to put economic theory into practice and make them more effective citizens."
This year, though, the site, which opened for business on Thursday, January 24, has broken the million-dollar mark in total tax refunds, not to mention saved clients tens of thousands of dollars in preparers' fees.
Overseen by Economics Professor Mary O'Keeffe, eight senior student volunteers work evenings Monday through Thursday to prepare tax returns for low to moderate-income families in Schenectady. The eight students, Ashley Braniecki, Fengguan Chen, Allison Dantus, Sarah Ehle, Thomas Haynes, Stephen Walker, Christopher Walkley and Alex Zani, are all IRS-certified, after having studied over winter break and taken the IRS Basic Certification Exam on the first day of class.
Students have become familiarized with specific circumstances, including social security and disability, and depending upon the specific circumstances of the clients, they are directed to the appropriate student volunteer. The program enables families with annual household incomes of less than $37,000 to have their tax returns filed at no charge.
Using e-filing, the electronic method of transmitting tax returns directly to the IRS, student volunteers submit tax returns, and refunds are sent back in a swift ten days, significantly faster than the traditional six to eight week wait.
For the low-income families VITA serves, these expedited refunds make a significant difference and are much needed and appreciated. In addition, these refunds make more than just an immediate difference. For a typical client, who can be generalized as a single parent bringing in an average income of $14,000, the several-thousand dollar refund the parent receives raises his or her family above the poverty line.
Union's program has been praised by the IRS, United Way and other networks of organizations for its work, and is held up as a successful model of volunteer income tax assistance for other colleges.
Assistant Director for Community Outreach at Union, Angela Blair, notes that "The help to Schenectady has been tremendous. I live in Schenectady, and I see and talk to a lot of the people that come here. It is so encouraging to people to know that there is a place to get taxes done with friendly people and without the outrageous fee."
The clients, though, are not the only people benefiting from the VITA program. Students have gained hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of public finance concepts. It is O'Keeffe's hope that "the students will take with them a deeper understanding of the problems of low-income families and senior citizens. Besides my hopes for the program's continued service to the community, I hope that this rewarding experience will continue to teach students how to put economic theory into practice and make them more effective citizens."
Be the first to comment on this story