Accounting Students at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus
Assist Low-Income Taxpayers with Free Tax Return Preparation

- Hundreds of elderly expected to line up for help from IRS-trained students -

Brooklyn, N.Y.—Hundred of low-income taxpayers, including many of the elderly, can count on free help with preparing their income tax returns though a program at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus.

Accounting students trained by the Internal Revenue Service will volunteer their time as part of the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. Anyone with an income below $40,000 can qualify for free help through VITA.

Annually, hundreds of people have lined up for the free tax program. It is  available on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., until April 15 (except for March 18 when it is not offered), in the Metcalfe Hall lobby at the corner of Flatbush and DeKalb avenues in downtown Brooklyn.For further information, please call (718) 780-4043.

Taxpayers should bring identification and social security cards for themselves and their dependents, records of their income including W-2 and 1099 forms and, if possible, a copy of last year’s state and federal tax returns.

“The VITA program is beneficial for the volunteers, who are getting excellent experience in tax preparation, while at the same time it fills an important need for the community,” explains Chris Thompson, 21, a Crown Heights resident and senior at the Brooklyn Campus with a double major in finance and accounting. A two-year veteran of the VITA program, Thompson is vice president of the Campus Accounting Society and is the volunteer coordinator.

Notes Myrna L. Fischman, C.P.A., accounting professor and adviser to the Accounting Society who oversees the service each year, “For more than 35 years, the Brooklyn Campus has helped our neighbors - many of them disabled, elderly or non-English speaking - through the VITA program.” She emphasizes, “Our services are free, reliable, efficient and rapid.”

At the Brooklyn Campus, the Department of Accounting, Taxation and Law offers B.S. and M.S. degrees in accounting, as well as an M.S. in taxation.

The Brooklyn Campus is distinguished by dynamic curricula reflecting the great urban community it serves. Distinctive programs encompass the arts and media, natural sciences, business, social policy, urban education, the health professions and pharmacy, and include the Ph.D. in clinical psychology, the Ph.D. in pharmaceutics, the D.P.T. in physical therapy and the Pharm.D. in pharmacy. The Campus recently completed a new performing arts complex, which includes the 320-seat Kumble Theater, and opened the $45 million Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center. The new facilities serve the needs of both the Campus and community.