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Tax service brings $1 million back to WNY
Students from UB’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program prepare tax returns for individuals and families with annual incomes of less than $49,000.
During the 2011 tax season, 155 IRS-certified accounting students from the School of Management brought $1,030,353 back into the Buffalo community through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
UB’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, the international honors organization for accounting and finance students and professionals, led the initiative that provided more than 2,200 hours of tax service, preparing more than 800 tax returns for individuals and families with annual incomes of less than $49,000.
“We’re especially pleased that nearly $172,000 of the total was a result of the Earned Income Credit, which targets low-income families in need of additional financial support,” says Slaven Dreno, a student in the School of Management and co-chair of the Beta Alpha Psi’s VITA committee. “It means that we helped a number of families who needed it most.”
“We could not be more proud of our students and the impact they have made on the community with this initiative,” said Arjang A. Assad, dean of the School of Management. “Despite their class loads and other responsibilities, these students have been working virtually every weekend since January to make this program the outstanding success that it has been.”
Cumulatively, School of Management student volunteers have brought nearly $2.7 million in tax refunds back into the Buffalo community over the past three years by preparing more than 2,100 tax returns for low-income families. Approximately $463,000 was from the Earned Income Credit.
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