| Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, Inc. “The Greater Norwalk Area’s Community Action Agency” Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now, Inc. (NEON a private non-profit organization, is the community action agency serving the greater Norwalk Area including New Canaan, Westport, Weston, Wilton and Darien. |
| NEON offers tax help for low-income residents |
| NEON, Inc. 98 South Main Street Norwalk, CT 06854 Phone: (203) 899-2483 Central Admin: 203.899.2420 Fax: 203.899.2430 Email: admin@neon-norwalk.org |
The Hour, January 24, 2007
By MAX HADLER
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK — There is still plenty of time before the April 15 deadline for
filing tax returns, but the shadow looms large as W-2 forms begin trickling
into mailboxes. Fortunately, help is following close behind.
For the first time in three years, low- and middle-income Norwalk residents
can get a hand with their returns at Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now,
Inc., through the nationwide Volunteer Individual Tax Assistance program,
or VITA.
NEON is getting an early start to the season with a campaign kickoff at its
South Main Street location on January 29 at 3 p.m. The meeting will serve
as an opportunity to learn about the program and make appointments for
the processing period that runs from Feb. 5 to April 5.
A team of four newly-trained volunteers, including one who is Spanish-
English bilingual, will work with residents whose annual household
income is around or below $38,000, said Jackie Lovegren of NEON. The
community center will tentatively be open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on
Tuesdays and Thursday with hopes of improving on the 70 returns it
processed in 2004.
Beyond alleviating the logistical pain of tax returns, the VITA program
attempts to maximize the special credit potential of eligible residents.
"We try to link them with asset-building services to help them invest and
make them financially stable by investing those credits wisely from year-to-
year," said Ellen Carter of the Connecticut Association for Human Services
(CAHS), which works with the Internal Revenue Service to target areas of
need and enlist local host agencies.
Of the breaks available, the Earned Income Tax Credit can be particularly
enticing to the population served by VITA. In 2006, a single head-of-
household with one child who made less than $32,000 was eligible for up
to $2,747, Carter said.
A new wrinkle in calculations this year, the long-distance telephone excise
tax refund, may also put a few pennies back in some pockets. Anyone who
paid such taxes between March 2003 and July 2006, regardless of the type
of telephone, is eligible. Those diligent enough to have kept all their phone
bills from that period can add them up and get a full refund. All others are
eligible for a standard amount that varies between $30 and $60 depending
on the amount of exemptions claimed.
"Take advantage of it now," said Jodonna Powell, the IRS territory manager
for Connecticut and Rhode Island, of the one-time offer.
The same advertisement might be made for VITA in general, given its
fleeting availability in Norwalk. The program was here in 2004 but had not
been offered since then. Carter said the success of the program in
Bridgeport, where volume has doubled for three consecutive years to a
record 2,200 filings in 2006, has helped inspire efforts at two sites in
Stamford - CTE and the Yerwood Center - and NEON in Norwalk.
For more information or to make an appointment, contact Jackie Lovegren
at NEON - (203) 899-2435
By MAX HADLER
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK — There is still plenty of time before the April 15 deadline for
filing tax returns, but the shadow looms large as W-2 forms begin trickling
into mailboxes. Fortunately, help is following close behind.
For the first time in three years, low- and middle-income Norwalk residents
can get a hand with their returns at Norwalk Economic Opportunity Now,
Inc., through the nationwide Volunteer Individual Tax Assistance program,
or VITA.
NEON is getting an early start to the season with a campaign kickoff at its
South Main Street location on January 29 at 3 p.m. The meeting will serve
as an opportunity to learn about the program and make appointments for
the processing period that runs from Feb. 5 to April 5.
A team of four newly-trained volunteers, including one who is Spanish-
English bilingual, will work with residents whose annual household
income is around or below $38,000, said Jackie Lovegren of NEON. The
community center will tentatively be open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on
Tuesdays and Thursday with hopes of improving on the 70 returns it
processed in 2004.
Beyond alleviating the logistical pain of tax returns, the VITA program
attempts to maximize the special credit potential of eligible residents.
"We try to link them with asset-building services to help them invest and
make them financially stable by investing those credits wisely from year-to-
year," said Ellen Carter of the Connecticut Association for Human Services
(CAHS), which works with the Internal Revenue Service to target areas of
need and enlist local host agencies.
Of the breaks available, the Earned Income Tax Credit can be particularly
enticing to the population served by VITA. In 2006, a single head-of-
household with one child who made less than $32,000 was eligible for up
to $2,747, Carter said.
A new wrinkle in calculations this year, the long-distance telephone excise
tax refund, may also put a few pennies back in some pockets. Anyone who
paid such taxes between March 2003 and July 2006, regardless of the type
of telephone, is eligible. Those diligent enough to have kept all their phone
bills from that period can add them up and get a full refund. All others are
eligible for a standard amount that varies between $30 and $60 depending
on the amount of exemptions claimed.
"Take advantage of it now," said Jodonna Powell, the IRS territory manager
for Connecticut and Rhode Island, of the one-time offer.
The same advertisement might be made for VITA in general, given its
fleeting availability in Norwalk. The program was here in 2004 but had not
been offered since then. Carter said the success of the program in
Bridgeport, where volume has doubled for three consecutive years to a
record 2,200 filings in 2006, has helped inspire efforts at two sites in
Stamford - CTE and the Yerwood Center - and NEON in Norwalk.
For more information or to make an appointment, contact Jackie Lovegren
at NEON - (203) 899-2435
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