WHITEWATER For many Americans, tax season is a stressful time. The
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater offers a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic
(LITC) that offers qualified taxpayers free tax assistance.
Income tax filing is done by undergraduate accounting students who work with
applicants that earn below $49,000 per year. Students will prepare and file
taxes electronically. All communications between LITC volunteers, staff and
clients are held in strict confidence. The LITC will not send your
information to the Internal Revenue Service without your permission and the
clinic is open year-round and is free to qualified applicants.
The LITC also works to educate taxpayers regarding their rights and
responsibilities through taxpayer education workshops and assists with the
following tax related issues:
· IRS audits and examination
· IRS appeals
· IRS collection
· Earned income credit
· Filing status and dependents
· Failure to file returns
· Innocent spouse status
· Independent contractor/employee
· Liens and levies
· Obtaining an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
Graduate students in the accounting program, under the supervision of
Certified Public Accountants, help qualified taxpayers resolve controversies
with the IRS and can help answer tax questions. Students working in the LITC
are required to take a low income tax clinic course and work in the clinic
as an internship. Students also make presentations to English as s Second
Language audiences in local towns, businesses and counties about taxpayer
rights and responsibilities. The program offers assistance when community
members receive notice from the Internal Revenue Service, help them fix the
problem and understand the process.
³I think that the service we provide to English as a second language
taxpayers is vital for their well being as they enter American society,²
Cesar Arias, a senior with four years experience working in the tax clinic.
³Anyone who lived all their life in the US understands the importance of tax
reporting. However migrants to this country don’t really understand our
complex taxation system. That is why we go out and do Œrights and
responsibility¹ presentations at outreach centers. This provides an
opportunity to answer questions people might have, and if they have any tax
controversies; we would be able to assist them with that.²
