Shortly after I posted this piece about IRS cutting ties with ACORN, I received an email asking me, among other things, if I thought this was a good thing and if we should “get rid” of the VITA program altogether because of the potential for giving bad advice. I didn’t immediately respond to the email because I wanted to give it some thought. And then I thought it that it might my response be worth sharing. So here’s my take on the whole mess:
I absolutely think that the IRS decision to cut ties with ACORN’s VITA program was a good one. But not because a couple of folks gave bad tax advice – if that were the criteria, there are quite a number of tax preparers that would be out of a job. Rather, it’s because I share Commissioner Shulman’s concern that: [i]t is absolutely critical that taxpayers have trust in our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program partners. I don’t think that’s the case right now – and that’s why stepping away was a good thing.
As to the question of whether the VITA program should be canned altogether – I couldn’t be more vehement that I think that’s a terrible idea. The implication in the email was that the population which is being served might have “complicated” tax issues that can’t be properly addressed by volunteers; the further implication was that those tax issues might be related to fraud.
I understand where that’s coming from because I saw the video and it was distressing to see that the ACORN staffers didn’t even flinch at some of the information delivered by the potential “taxpayers.” But that shouldn’t be interpreted as the norm.
A little explanation about VITA may be in order. First of all VITA, which stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, offers free tax help to low- to moderate-income taxpayers. Being poor or living paycheck to paycheck isn’t a crime. Don’t be misled by a staged video (and yes, while I think the reaction was terrible, the video was clearly a set up) to believe that the only folks who would seek free tax help are those who want to commit fraud. These are people, for the most part, who want to pay their taxes. They want to be compliant.
Last year, VITA volunteers prepared 2.8 million tax returns, or about 2% of the total individual returns filed. These taxpayers were seniors, students, single parents… It well could have been you and I. They were also military – the military has a very active VITA program. Our Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force and National Guard – and their families – can get free tax assistance from volunteers who understand issues that matter to military personnel, like combat zone tax benefits, through VITA.
So the market that VITA serves is broad base that includes many, many good people. I can’t stress enough how unfair it would be to assume that those seeking free help are cheats.
As far as the character and competence of the volunteers go, I can speak to that firsthand. For years, I helped coordinate the VITA site at our local senior center. The volunteers at our center were first rate – many were actually tax attorneys, accountants and tax preparers who just wanted to give something back to the community. Others were retirees, engineers, students, bankers… you name it. Just good folks who gave up their time to help other people. Those folks received training which generally included how to prepare returns, new developments (like the rebate checks from last year) in tax law that affect taxpayers, and how to use the IRS tax prep software – there’s even a test! Additionally, there are supervisors on site to help out with more difficult questions – and hotlines to call when there are problems.
It’s a really wonderful program. Are there problems? Of course there are. Do folks occasionally screw up? Sure. Does that happen almost anywhere? Absolutely. I dare you to find one tax prep service that has never, ever made a mistake. You can’t.
I would encourage you to find out more about VITA if you have questions – and perhaps even become a volunteer. Don’t let some edited video and some bad behavior by ACORN color your impression of the more than 100,000 people who show up every tax season to try and do the right thing.
The IRS announced on Wednesday that it is cutting ties with ACORN after disastrous video footage was released showing ACORN workers offering inappropriate and flawed tax advice. The IRS will no longer include ACORN in its VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) program:
“The IRS has partnered with hundreds of community and volunteer organizations, including ACORN, to provide free tax assistance to low- and moderate-income Americans. It is absolutely critical that taxpayers have trust in our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program partners. In light of recent events, the IRS has decided to terminate its relationship with ACORN.”
For its part, ACORN had also (wisely) decided not to continue its tax program. The group’s president, Bertha Lewis, claims that a letter advising of this fact was mailed to the IRS on Monday.
For years, I was a site coordinator for the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at our local senior center. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it to anyone seeking a volunteer opportunity.
VITA is a program that offer free tax preparation and/or assistance for low-to-moderate income individuals. The specific type of client served differs from site to site – at our site, we prepared returns for seniors whose incomes met certain criteria.
You don’t have to be a tax rock star to volunteer – there are lots of ways to help out. You can be a greeter, assist with intake and appointments (we had appointments at our site) or prepare returns. Training is available to assist with the preparation of returns – software and computers are also typically provided for your use. You can also help with publicizing existing programs (yes, bloggers, this means you).
I volunteered for many years with an outstanding gentleman named John Swift. John was not a tax professional – he was a retired engineer that got involved through Notre Dame’s alum program. While I might not be the biggest fan of Notre Dame football, I will say that their Philadelphia area alum program is terrific with many of the alums volunteering hours of their time week after week to help out with VITA. John really spearheaded the program at our site, hauling computers and portable printers to and from the site, and working hard at his own home to make sure that the right copies of the right forms got to the right people. He was a great spirit and devoted countless hours to VITA. He was also a dad and a granddad – he really focused on how fortunate he had been in his lifetime and endeavored to be of service to others. John passed away this year on Tax Day, which seems fitting. He was a great example of what it means to give back.
I hope you’ll consider following John’s example. It’s a great program that helps a lot of folks out. Each year, I would drag our interns and some associates down to the site to work on returns and meet the seniors. I think that they all learned a lot – not just about the quirky facets of the Tax Code – but also about working with others, serving clients and being professional.
I met a lot of wonderful volunteers and clients at VITA. My favorite client to this day remains the gentleman who told me, with a twinkle in his eye, that his occupation was “Spy.” And it was truly gratifying to have so many seniors clearly relieved to have their filings over with – many are scared to file because they don’t understand the forms and are worried that they will owe money. In fact, at our site, we were able to secure refunds for many seniors who had significant withholdings on meager pensions (don’t get me started on this).
If this sounds like something that might interest you, consider finding a local VITA program to work with next tax season. To locate the nearest VITA site, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
If you are a private or public 501(c)(3) organization or state or local government agency, you might want to consider starting your own VITA site. IRS has made grants available this year for VITA participants. The IRS will award matching grants to extend services to underserved populations and hard-to-reach areas, both urban and non-urban. The grants will also be used to increase the capacity to file returns electronically and enhance training of volunteers at VITA sites.
The grant is a matching funds grant meaning that you have to offer funds to receive funds on a dollar-for-dollar basis. However, matching funds includes not only cash, but computer hardware and software and third-party, in-kind contributions.
I hope you’ll consider helping out.
(Hat Tip: Tax Prof Blog)
