Making A Difference in Your Community : Students Help Relieve Stress of Tax Time

A few taxpayers find it hard to place their faith in a machine, Pierce College student Tina Fischer has noticed.

“Is it safe?” someone might ask her after insisting on seeing the computer lab where their electronic tax form is being filed. “I tell them it’s very safe,” Fischer said.

Fischer is one of 800 volunteers in Los Angeles working with the Internal Revenue Service as part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. that began in 1969 as a way to provide free help in preparing tax returns for senior citizens, the disabled or non-English-speaking workers.

The service is limited to people who earn less than $40,000 a year. Returns cannot be more complicated than listing itemized deductions. For example, those who are self-employed or who declare income from rental units are not eligible for the help.

Also, people who do not have their original W2 stubs are not accepted.

David Haiken, the Los Angeles district VITA coordinator for the IRS, estimates that last year about 16,000 people used the VITA program. This year, the number could be as high as 20,000, he said.

In the San Fernando Valley, most of the VITA assistance sites are run by Cal State Northridge, which has 15 centers in areas such as Granada Hills, Van Nuys, Burbank and Sylmar. Typically, most of the volunteers are business students, said Oscar Dominguez, publicity director of VITA at CSUN, which has had a VITA program since 1971.

This is the first year that VITA sites have been able to file electronically, and while that means more accuracy and faster refunds, it also creates more work for the volunteers, said Bob Lyons, professor of business administration at Pierce College, who started the VITA site on that campus 20 years ago.

“It creates a relationship with the taxpayer we didn’t have before,” said Lyons, who explained that with the computerized system, the volunteers must notify the taxpayer by letter when their return has been accepted.

“It’s great,” declared Fischer, about the new system. “I really like it.”

Fischer is a business administration major at Pierce who plans to attend USC and become an accountant. When the electronic filing program first began, there were some glitches that were not anticipated, she said. For example, the computer would not accept a filing from a married person filing separately.

“We learn as we go,” she said.

Those who have been most wary of the computers have been recent immigrants with limited English abilities who do not trust the technology yet.

“Just last night a lady was asking me, ‘How will I know if they got it OK?’ ” said Fischer, who explained that the computer system sends an acknowledgment the next day declaring if the form has been accepted or rejected. Any problems that would cause a rejection are usually caught before a return is filed, Fischer said.

This week is the last the VITA program will be available through CSUN or Pierce College before the start of spring break.

For more information on the location of a VITA site and the available hours, call (800) 829-1040. Those interested in being a program volunteer next year should call Haiken at (213) 894-4574.

Other volunteering opportunities:

Bridge Focus COSTARS child abuse prevention program needs volunteers starting April 18 for 10 consecutive weeks. Volunteers will be trained to help the program’s discussion on drug and alcohol prevention, family awareness and self-esteem. Also included are arts and crafts with children, story-telling and play time. Spanish-speaking volunteers are needed. For more information, call Shelli Duby, (818) 563-5509.

The Burbank Temporary Aid Center, 1304 W. Burbank Blvd., is looking for volunteers to work one half day each week interviewing clients or working in the pantry. An orientation session will be held Saturday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. For more information, call Dee Call at (818) 953-9503.

Getting Involved is a weekly listing of volunteering opportunities. Please address prospective listings to Getting Involved, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, 91311. Or fax them to (818) 772-3338.