IRS Honors Aurora Students for Free Tax Prep

AURORA, Ill. July 19, 2007 - Local residents were among 40 Aurora University students honored by the Internal Revenue Service for preparing income tax forms free for the public.

In a fifth annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, sponsored by the IRS, AU business students prepared a record 423 federal returns for Chicago-area residents. Student tax preparers recovered $367,423 in refunds for taxpayers, including a $10,900 rebate to a Sugar Grove resident. Rosie Robinson, senior tax specialist from the IRS Chicago office, presented recognition certificates and letters of appreciation in a ceremony at Dunham Hall.
Mathieu was among 48 college students honored. Ceremonies were held in the Hall of Representatives, Old State Capitol, in Springfield .

AU's Dunham School of Business partners with the IRS in the VITA program. Collegians prepared tax forms in "Accounting 3310: Federal Taxation of Individuals," a spring-semester course taught by Leonard Scholl, CPA, assistant professor of accounting.

The service was offered on six Saturday mornings at Dunham Hall from Feb. 10 to April 14. The income limit was $50,000. For the first time, taxpayers could drop off forms for pick up later and prior-year returns were prepared.

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 during the tax season as students prepared tax returns for the public. Bilingual students provided translation assistance for Spanish-speaking taxpayers.

Scholl announced that the 2008 VITA schedule will be from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays Feb. 16, Feb. 23, Mar. 1, Mar. 15, Mar. 29, and April 5. The location will be the lobby of Dunham Hall at 1400 Marseillaise Place in Aurora.

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 honored were:

Illinois

Aurora: Erika Amaro, Angela Appello, Jessica Bryan, Dominick Cirone, Elizabeth Gutierrez, Aaron Hansen, Matt Lance, Jessica Mooney, Maria Nicasio, Isabel Ocon, Gabriel Reyes, Nicole Sweezer

Batavia: David Petschke, Wej Schwocha

Bloomington: Angela Garza

Bolingbrook: Katherine Milton

Cortland: Jennette Ziemba

Dixon: Christopher Grove

Flanagan: Rebecca Grau

Glen Ellyn: Joshua Haas

Indian Head Park: Michael Bozek

Maple Park: Laura Ortega

Marshall: Aaron Galeener

Montgomery: Brent Westphal

Naperville: Paul Dean

Oswego: Amanda Gibson, Sharon Swanson, Jennifer Lewis

Peoria Heights: Cory Cowan

Rock Falls: Alesha Nance

Romeoville: Whitney Hitchings

St. Charles: Latasha Yates

Sleepy Hollow: Deanna Landgraf

South Elgin: Eric Scott

Sugar Grove: Julie Justus

Sycamore: Laurel Christle

Willowbrook: Veronica Davis

Florida

Lauderhill: Brandon McIntosh

Indiana

Bluffton: Mallory Nicholas

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