THE VOICE OF THE TOWNSHIP
The Internal Revenue Service is looking to give $4 million dollars in unclaimed refunds to local citizens. Are you one of them?
For the second consecutive year, the Wayne Township Trustee’s Office is hosting a site for the “Money In Your Pocket” campaign in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA). Our site is open from 12 pm to 4 pm on each Tuesday and Thursday and on Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. It is staffed with multilingual tax preparers or translators to assist every possible taxpayer. There is absolutely no cost to the taxpayer. It is designed to assist people with annual incomes of under $35,000 in the preparation of their 2004 tax forms so the highest possible refunds can be claimed.
Many citizens are not aware of the numerous credits available when filing their taxes that can significantly increase the amount of their refund. For example, the Earned Income Credit (EITC) is an important anti-poverty and work incentive program run by the federal government. The EITC is designed to help families who earn low to moderate wages. If a worker qualifies, the EITC may lower or eliminate any taxes owed. If a worker is not obligated to pay any taxes or if the credit is larger than any taxes owed, the worker will receive a cash payment (“refund”) from the Internal Revenue Service after filing a tax return. In such instances, the government is providing low-income workers additional money beyond what they get paid at their jobs to encourage work and to reduce poverty.
Families with one or more children can receive much more EITC than single workers who do not claim any children. For tax year 2004, the maximum EITC amount a qualifying worker with one child can receive is $2,604. For two or more children under one’s care, the maximum amount is $4,300. For workers with no children, the maximum EITC amount is just $390. Of course, the EITC amount that most workers can obtain is usually lower than these maximum figures. (Statistics from Internal Revenue Service)
Last year, nationally more than 21 million taxpayers collected $36 billion in EITC credits. Locally it is estimated that about $4 million is available of which only $1 million was claimed this past year. Are you or a member of your family not claiming your part of this unclaimed $3 million dollars? Just imagine what these funds could do for our local economy!
I encourage anyone who has not yet filed his or her taxes to take advantage of this free service. The Internal Revenue Service and their volunteers are very eager to help you. Electronic filing is also available on-site to speed up your refund and in fact, I am proud to announce that the Wayne Township Trustee’s Office has prepared the fifth most electronically accepted free returns of several hundred sites in the State. Please note, that with this service becoming so popular in our building, customers are seen on a first-come, first-served basis and in the hours available only. If you have any questions call the Wayne Township Trustee’s Office at 260-449-7000 between 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M., Monday through Friday.
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