Free Tax Helps Yields $1.43 Million - Sunday, May 25, 2008

FORT WAYNE (May 25, 2008) – A communitywide effort to offer free tax help to people who qualified for a 2007 Earned Income Tax Credit yielded $1.43 million for filers who took advantage of the program.

Of that amount, nearly $600,000 represented Earned Income Tax Credits.

The total number of individual returns submitted to the IRS during the effort was 1,362.

The free tax help program was offered January 26 through April 12 at Community Action of Northeast Indiana (CANI), St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Euell A. Wilson Center. It was coordinated by the Allen County Financial Stability Partnership.

The partnership is led by United Way of Allen County and the Volunteer Center @ RSVP. Among the partnership members and supporters are representatives of the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar’s Northeast Indiana Community Service Center, Community Action of Northeast Indiana (CANI), City of Fort Wayne, Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, National City Bank, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, American Red Cross – Multicultural Exchange (MIX), National City Bank, Euell A. Wilson Center and the Hispanic Leadership Coalition.

The partnership is part of an emerging community effort in Allen County to ensure that residents understand and make good use of the financial resources available to them.

“I am very excited about the strength and success of the partnership,” said Jerry Peterson, president and CEO of United Way of Allen County. “Together, we have built a strong foundation in helping local families become more financially stable.”

Each year in Allen County, the Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homeless estimates that as much as $6 million in Earned Income Tax Credits goes unclaimed by people who make less than $40,000 annually and meet certain requirements.

“That is money that hard-working Hoosiers have already earned and deserve back from the government,” Lugar said.

Sixty-eight volunteers – most of them tax preparers – assisted with the EITC program.

“This program allows community volunteers the opportunity to know that they are making a vital difference in the lives of the people they serve,” said Jean Joley, director of the Volunteer Center @ RSVP. “We have seen a number of families use their tax refunds to pay utility bills, provide a down-payment on a home or save for their education or future goals.”

Surveys taken at the tax preparation sites provided a snapshot of the people seeking help. Among the findings:

• Fifty-four percent made less than $12,000 a year.
• Sixty-three percent either did not finish high school or finished high school but did not attend college.
• Sixty-one percent had no health insurance.
• Sixty-one percent planned to use their refund to pay bills.

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Contacts:
Rick Farrant, United Way Director of Marketing & Communications, 422-4776 or rickf@uwacin.org
Mary Tyndall, United Way e-Communications Coordinator, 422-4776 or maryt@uwacin.org