Tax Clinic
Accounting and MIS
Call 2-1-1 in Columbus to make an appointment for FREE Federal and Ohio tax preparation.
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Congratulations to VITA! The VITA program was part of a group of OSU community service projects recognized by President Bush on the Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction. Learn more about the award. |
The Fisher/OSU Tax Clinic began operation in September 2003. Senior Lecturer William A. Raabe, PhD, CPA, heads up its activities, under the direction of AMIS Chair Richard Dietrich.
The Fisher/OSU Tax Clinic provides free tax preparation services to low-income taxpayers living and working in the Columbus metro area.
Columbus City Council president Matt Habush and Council member Charleta Tavares discuss the Fisher Tax Clinic's VITA operations with volunteers Karen deLaubenfels and Christine Locher.
The Clinic has developed a chapter of the IRS' Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. It also is a member of the Columbus Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition, organized by the Columbus City Council to aid citizens in obtaining the full amount of the credit as funded for them by Congress.
The Clinic works with the Columbus office of the IRS to provide contacts with low-income taxpayers as they prepare their federal and state income tax returns. It offers workstations where qualified taxpayers come to work with our volunteers to complete their tax forms and file them electronically. Clinic volunteers for the 2007 filing season work at the Godman Guild Community Center (Map to Godman Guild).
The Fisher/OSU Tax Clinic is supported by over fifty student volunteers, mostly from the MAcc program. (15 MAcc students have taken leadership roles as Site Managers for the operation this year.) Additional volunteers are recruited from the MBA program, and the local chapters of Beta Alpha Psi and the Accounting Association.
The College and the AMIS department have provided support in the form of computers, printer, and training with which electronic filing can be completed by the taxpayer at the site, and with Fisher shirts to be worn while the volunteers are working, as well as other support for the students.
VITA is a national operation, and most business schools operate a worksite every year. The 2004 filing season was the first year of VITA work at this level for Fisher. The OSU law school operates a site that is dedicated to the tax issues of campus international students. VITA and Beta Alpha Psi have a national partnership, with various levels of cross-promotion and incentives for quality work by the student volunteers.
Community service of this type - highly visible, involving lower income citizens, capturing tax refunds for them that otherwise would be ignored or given to for-profit tax preparers - is an important function of the college and the university. It helps our students develop an appreciation for client service and interaction, build their resumes, and "give back" to the taxpayers who make the university available. And it can bring significant amounts of tax refund/credit money from Washington into the local economy.