Credit Guides And Credit Services

Students help out during tax season

Date 2/22/2001 12:00 AM | Topic: Features

Jason Howard, a senior accounting major, is getting a head start on his career by teaching the elderly and low-income citizens how to fill out their income tax returns for his senior project.

Howard will be offering his free tax service to the public Wednesday evenings from 5 - 8 p.m. and Saturday afternoons from 1 - 4 p.m. through April 11, excluding spring break, at the Decorah Public Library. Luther students with questions about their federal and state income tax returns are invited to attend these sessions as well.

Howard got the idea for his project last summer. He contacted his advisor, Ramona Nelson, associate professor of accounting and management, and she introduced him to Volunteer Income Tax Assistants (VITA), a nation-wide volunteer program sponsored by the IRS.

Since then, Howard has invested approximately 70 hours studying the Iowa income tax system, training a group of volunteer tax assistants, making arrangements for facilities, and publicizing his service within the Decorah community. At the program's conclusion, he will hand in a reflection paper for senior paper credit.

One of Howard's goals is to observe how the complex tax system affects low-income families.

"The tax credit system designed to help the poor is very confusing," Howard remarked. "Many eligible people don't get the credit they deserve because they don't know how to apply for them and can't hire anyone to help."

Another of Howard's goals is to create a program that can be continued over the next several years. The VITA program provides tax services in several communities and has been offered by Decorah resident Stan Jeffers for 15 years, but Howard says there is plenty of room for the program to expand.

To help meet these goals, Howard trained a group of volunteers from Luther to help him.

"This program wouldn't be possible without the help of my friends," Howard said.

His fellow VITA student and faculty volunteers are Alison Blumer ('01), Jenny Kehoe ('02), James Lewallan ('01), Holly Riebe ('01), Lisa Wilson ('02), and Cori Fox, who works in the Career Center. They have each spent approximately 24 hours reading tax materials, attending January training sessions, and taking a four- to six-hour exam administered by the IRS.

One or two volunteers will be present at each service session.

Despite the high time commitment, all of the participants in VITA are learning a great deal from the program.

According to Blumer, "I thought it would be good to learn more about taxes for personal reference, and I thought it would be fulfilling to help other people with something they need to do."

Seven Decorah residents have taken advantage of the service since the night of the first session, Wednesday, Feb. 7. Howard expects the numbers to increase as April 15 approaches.

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Katie Marske
Chips Staff Writer

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