: Junta for Progressive Action

City, state, local agencies team up to assist poor with tax preparation

Michael Gannon, Register Staff

01/23/2005

NEW HAVEN — With 82 days left until April 15, city, state and local agencies are teaming up to make sure the city’s low-income earners do not miss out on either deadlines or maximum refunds.

The New Haven Economic Security Coalition has assembled a team of volunteers and donors who will offer free tax and financial services through the April 15 deadline.

The coalition opened a brand new office Saturday where people can work on returns and get assistance. The office is located at the community organization Junta at 169 Grand Ave.

The office will be open Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The State Administration of General Assistance (SAGA) program will offer the services Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Kate McAdams, an assistant to Mayor John DeStefano Jr., said they are trying to greatly expand on the number of people they served last year.

"Last year more than 500 people used our services," McAdams said. "We helped prepare 412 tax returns that generated $585,000 in refunds."

One of the top priorities this year will be getting qualified residents to cash in on the under-used earned income tax credit, which allows low-income wage earners to recoup far more of their money. McAdams said 171 of their clients last year received EITC credits amounting to $266,000. She said in 2002, New Haven residents received more than $19.7 million in EITC refunds

"That’s $19 million that is spent in the area, that goes back into the city’s economy," said Michael Montano of Junta.

Ron Peruzzi, who works with the coalition out of the Hartford office of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, said the IRS and other organizations donate everything from computer equipment to bilingual literature to the effort.

State Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, said the computers allow low-income residents to file for free, sometimes saving up to hundreds of dollars over using commercial tax preparers.

Peruzzi and Montano also said the speed with which refunds are made with computer filings can let people avoid the so-called refund anticipation loans from the commercial preparers.

Laura O’Keefe of the New Haven Action Alliance said they also will offer classes on financial management, and services such as setting up free checking accounts with which to save some of the refunded money. The accounts are provided through the New Alliance Bank and Bank of America.

"We’re trying to provide one-stop shopping for financial information," she said.

Michael Gannon can be reached at mgannon@nhregister.com, or at 789-5710.

Ron Peruzzi, who works with the coalition out of the Hartford office of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, said it is not uncommon for earners making as little as $18,000 per year to receive a $5,000 refund if they meet the qualifications.

"But up to 25 percent of the people eligible for EITC don’t claim it for a variety of reasons," he said.

"Those are really just high-interest loans," Montano said. "People can lose most of their refund."

Montano said the bilingual services and the extra money are particularly important in Junta’s neighborhood, where the Spanish-speaking population has a number of the working poor.