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Tax season arrives
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Autumn Berend
Managing Editor
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ASSOCIATE-COPY EDITOR
Who wants to do work when someone
else can do it for you? A ccording to
a G eorgetow n U n iv e r s ity ’ s C e n te r
on E d u ca tio n and th e W o rk fo rce
study in 2015, around 70 percent of
c o lle g e stu d e n ts are also w orking
jo b s o u tsid e sc h o o l. W ith h e c tic
schedules, and day-to-day challenges
in life , m any students have turned
to tax assistan ce com panies io file
their taxes.
“ I d o n ’ t do a w hole lo t, I ju st use
fr e e ta x u s a .c o m and do [ta xe s] as
soon as I get my W -2 fo r m ,” said
Shelby Sm ith of her preferences on
filin g her taxes.
C o m p a n ie s lik e H & R B lo c k ,
TurboTax and Jackson Hewitt sit down
and do your taxes for you. According
to an article published by CNS News,
90 percent o f taxpayers in the United
S ta te s use a th ird p arty co m p an y
to h elp prepare th e ir ta x re tu rn s,
Frpm problems understanding how to
comply w ith ta x codes, to the general
c o m p le x ity o f tax law s, m ore and
more A m ericans are seeking help to
file their taxes5. '
Grace K ersting said her step dad,
Bob does taxes for his’ jo b .‘* I ’ m lucky
enough to have him do them for me.
If I d id n ’ t have B ob, I ’ d have .m y
b oy frien d ’ s mom do m in e, because
she does them for her fa m ily .”
A cco rd in g to C N S N ew s, Jo h n A .
K o sk in en , a co m m issio n e r fo r the
IR S , c la im e d th a t th e n u m b e r o f
p eo ple se e k in g tax h elp is on the
rise, the IRS has provided a page to
help individuals find ta x resources,
in c lu d in g free ta x h e lp . On th e ir
w ebsite w w w .irs.co m , under th eir
“ A rticle s” section, students can find
an article titled “ Where To Go If You
Need Tax H elp; Know Your O ptions
for Tax Preparation A s s is ta n c e .”
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C o p y 2 -T o B e F ile d With Empioyee’s State, City, or Local
Income Tax Return
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The standard format for a W-2 tax statement, the most common form referenced
while preparing to file taxes.
T his article provides o p tion s for
both free tax preparation and fe e -
based tax preparers and goes over
som e o f th e lin g o and a cro n y m s
do m m o n ly a sso c ia te d w ith filin g
taxes to help their audience better
understand w hat they need.
“ J.use TurboTax, because they have
a free o p tio n ,” said Preston Drews.
“ Every year I file a 1040EZ, as w ell.
I ’ m u su ally m o stly happy w ith my
return and they, as a com pany make
rhy life m uch e a s ie r.”
An article found in Forbes claim s
th a t in 1986, o n ly 25,000 returns^
were eletronically filed but recently,
th e IR S c la im s M c D o n a ld ’ s - lik e
n u m b e rs, a n n o u n c in g m ore th a n
“ on e b illio n s e r v e d .” A lth o u g h
the Forbes a rticle said 80 percent
o f taxes are e -file d , as opposed to
the CNS a rticle , e - filin g m akes up
the m ajority’ s preferred method for
filin g their taxes.
H&R BL0CK
ON THE COVER:
'
Snowflake cover designed by William Farris.
PRINT
Editorial
EXPLORING RESOURCES STUDENTS USE WHILE PREPARING THEIR TAXES
BY VIC TO R IA DU RLING
CLACKAMAS
W hat does th is m ean for the tax
p re p a ra tio n in d u stry ? IB ISW orld
reported that the industry as a whole
w ill m ake m ore th a n $11 b illio n
this year. W ith a fa st-p a ce d annual
growth percentage (it climbed nearly
six p ercen t in ju st five y ears,) i t ’ s
safe to say the data su p p orts the
claim s o f 80 and 90 percent usage o f
tax preparers by the public.
As students push forward further
into the digital world, jobs in locally-
owned tax p reparatio n b u sin esses
are b e g in n in g to d is a p p e a r , A n
a rtic le on w w w .in v e sto p e d ia .c o m
discussed this to p ic, as w ell as the
o th e r fa c to rs c o n trib u tin g to the
downfall of in -person tax preparers.
Low prices, ease of access and a vast
array of services seen in on lin e tax
preperation com pan ies has forced
sm a lle r ta x b u s in e s s e s o u t, and
u sh ered in a n ew , d ig ita l age fo r
taxes.
©turbotax.
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February 28, 2018