Milligan is once again offering its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for the 2022 Spring semester. The program includes student volunteers that assist local community members with their tax preparation and refunds.
According to Milligan’s website, the program will take place in Milligan’s Hardin Hall from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on the following Saturdays: Feb. 27, March 13, and March 27.
The program will look a little different this year, as Milligan will continue to follow Covid-19 precautions.
This will include, “masks and social distancing while initial meetings will take place outside in a covered breezeway, and then tax returns will be prepared while taxpayers wait in their car. Any questions will be covered by phone,” wrote SGA president Chase McGlamery.
Dr. David Campbell, Area Chair of Business and Professor of Economics, added that the VITA program is a good example of what servant leadership in business can look like.
“Our students gain a great understanding of the tax code and use it to serve members of the community in need,” said Campbell.
The program began in 2008 and is under the supervision of faculty in the William B. Greene, Jr. School of Business & Technology.
Milligan’s website adds that “students train extensively and are certified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to prepare returns for taxpayers in Johnson City, Elizabethton, and the surrounding areas.”
The VITA program, which includes a partnership with the Bank of Tennessee and Carter County Bank, requires appointments that can be scheduled at www.milligan.edu/vita.
Those eligible to participate in receiving tax assistance are “people with annual incomes of less than $64,000; anyone with a physical disability; non-English-speaking citizens; and people older than 55,” according to Milligan’s website.
“We are proud of the impact this program has made on the community and will continue to make,” said Campbell.
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