| Aurora University News Release | Contact:
Al Benson 630/844-5150 abenson@aurora.edu |
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Tax Officials Honor Aurora University Volunteers For Preparing Taxes FreeAURORA, Ill. May 12, 2006 - Area residents were among 50 Aurora University students and others honored by the Internal Revenue Service May 6 for preparing income tax forms for free for 380 area residents, recovering $313,000 in federal refunds. Rosie Robinson and Harry Fitzsimmons, senior tax specialists from the IRS Chicago office, presented recognition certificates and letters of appreciation to AU tax preparers at Dunham Hall. AU’s Dunham School of Business partnered with the IRS in the fourth annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Under the tutelage of two AU accounting instructors/CPAs, 50 accounting students prepared a record 380 federal returns and about an equal number of state returns. Collegians did taxes free from 8 to 11 a.m. on six Saturdays from Feb. 18 to April 1 for taxpayers earning up to $50,000. Electronic filing was available for a second year. Student tax preparers recovered a program-record $313,000 in refunds for taxpayers, including an $8,000 rebate to a Yorkville resident. Leonard Scholl, assistant professor of accounting, and Bruce Fogerty, accounting instructor, taught students in “Accounting 2310: Federal Taxation of Individuals,” a spring-semester course. During six Saturdays of the 16-week class, two-person teams of accounting students sat down with taxpayers to prepare tax forms. Some 152 forms were filed electronically by collegians using university computers. Before preparing returns for the public, AU students completed 24 hours of classroom training. Instruction included preparing more than 50 sample federal and state returns. Training continued as students prepared tax returns for the public. Bilingual students provided translation assistance for Spanish-speaking taxpayers. The program served taxpayers from Aurora to Chicago, ranging from 153 on opening day to 44 on the closing date. At AU’s March 25 VITA session, collegians prepared 2003 and 2004 returns for an Aurora resident. He collected $3,100 in refunds combined for past-year returns. Scholl said accounting majors are required to participate in the federal taxation course. Other business students may take the course as an elective. Several students who completed the course in prior years returned as volunteers. Last year, about 65 AU collegians prepared a record 325 federal tax returns and generated $309,000 in refunds for 325 taxpayers from Chicago and 20 suburbs. Scholl said the largest refund was $6,000. VITA is designed to serve the elderly, handicapped, low-income, and non-English-speaking persons. Scholl said, “Students learned federal and state income tax theory while they applied it to actual tax-return preparation in a closely supervised environment. “This hands-on preparation of tax returns strengthens students’ resumes, makes them more marketable, and provides valuable experience in public contact,” Scholl said. According to the IRS, AU volunteers are among more than 73,000 who annually assist more than 3.5 million persons with federal income taxes. Students and others honored by the IRS were:
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