 Front row: Katie Manko, Yohanny Vargas, Brian Karimi-Pashaki, Lawrence Hung, Yiran Zhang, Dandan Zhang Back row: Sam Solomon-O'Connell, David Sorensen, Matt Petrone, Habib Kamara, Colin Knox, Jigme Norbu, Jacob Berman All our 2012 student preparers pictured above have passed the first AND second level IRS Certification Tests and are qualified to prepare and quality review VITA tax returns within the scope of their certifications. For more about our students, see here. I designed this site as a training resource for my Union College economics students studying IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) training materials over their winter break. Anyone with an interest in learning more about income tax policy and practice is welcome to use these resources as well. Facts about the Union College VITA site:  Since the site opened in the 2005 filing season, Union College student volunteer tax preparers have prepared over a thousand tax returns free of charge for low and moderate income working families and senior citizens.The Union College students who operate the site are part of a service-learning class, Economics 391, Income Tax Policy & Practice, in which they also study economic research about how the incentives built into our tax code affect economic behavior and public policy goals. If you are a taxpayer looking for directions or information about how to contact our VITA site to set up an appointment, you'll find that information at this link. Our Union College VITA site is part of a partnership with the Internal Revenue Service, the Schenectady County Department of Social Services, the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and the United Way of the Greater Capital District's Creating Assets, Savings and Hope (CA$H) Coalition. We also work closely with the nearby VITA site at the YWCA of Schenectady.  |
