Spilyay Tymoo, Wai-m Springs, Oregon
November 10, 2005
Free tax help
By Tracey I. Letlie
Deputy Advocate
W.S. Community Action Team
When April 15, 2006, rolls
around, will you be sure that
you're getting the refund you
deserve? According to the In
ternal Revenue Service, in 2002,
only 34 percent of taxpayers
eligible for the Earned Income
Tax Credit (EITC) in Warm
Springs, and Jefferson and
Crook counties, accessed the
credit That means the other 66
percent missed out on up to
$4,300 on their tax return.
What It the EITC?
The EITC is the largest re
fundable tax credit available to
low-income taxpayers. The fact
that it is refundable is important
because it means that if you
qualify for the EITC, and your
credit is larger than the amount
of taxes you owe, then you will
receive a tax refund from the
IRS.
In order to qualify for the
EITC you must be a working
individual or family and have a
household income that falls
within the income requirements
defined by the IRS.
Free tax help from HDEA
The only way to take advan
tage of the EITC is to file a tax
Tanner Yallup takes first elk
Could it be the first elk
taken daring the reservation
rifle elk season? Tanner
Yallup, 14, has his first elk, a
nice 5x6. The bull is 40
inches wide with 47 -inch main
beams, and has an 18-inch-long
eye guard. Tanner shot
the elk with a 7mm Winches
ter Short Magnum at a
distance of only 20 yards at (
7:15 a.m. on opening day, ,,
Oct. 15. To top it off, an ,
eagle feather was found lying
on the ground near where the
elk was taken. What a day!
Workshop on beef nutrition
OSU Extension will host provide information to folks
a beef nutrition workshop
from 5 to 8 p.m., Tuesday,
Nov. 15 in Warm Springs.
For information, or to
RSVP, call Fara Currim at
553-3238.
Dinner will be served. The
goal of the workshop is to
available in Warm Springs
return. For many families, this
is an intimidating prospect. The
I Iigh Desert Economic Alliance
(HDEA) was created to raise
awareness of available tax cred
its among low-income taxpayers
and provide free tax preparation
sites to help eligible taxpayers
take advantage of the credits on
their tax returns.
The HDEA is a coalition of
nonprofit groups and govern
ments including the Confeder
ated Tribes of Warm Springs,
Crook and Jefferson counties,
the IRS, the Oregon Depart
ment of Revenue, the Warm
Springs Community Action
Team, the Central Oregon Part
nership, COCAAN, the AARP
tax aid, the Oregon Commission
on Children and Families, the
Habitat for Humanity and the
Oregon Child Development
Coalition.
In Warm Springs, a free tax
preparation site will be available
during the tax season at the Fam
ily Resource Center, along with
mobile sites at the senior center
and in the Simnasho and
Seekseequa communities.
With a jump-start on their
outreach campaign, the I IDEA
hopes to increase the number
of tax returns completed by the
Warm Springs site from last
year's total of 50.
w5 m
Yallup with elk.
who are in or who are inter
ested in the beef production
industry, with a focus on win
ter feeding of beef cattle. A
beef nutrition workbook will
be used interactively to cus
tomize ranch nutrition plans.
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Why free tax preparation?
Taxpayers who normally pre
pare their own returns may not
know that they qualify for the
EITC and other credits and miss
out on their benefits with a
smaller refund. Taxpayers who
go to paid preparers may access
their credits, but after the
preparer's fees are deducted,
they still see a small refund.
There is no cost to use the
HDEA's free tax preparation
sites. You have access to all of
the same information you would
through a paid preparer; how
ever, your entire refund is yours
to keep.
Another benefit of the free
sites: filing back taxes. An eligible
family can go back and file re
turns for the past three tax years
without any penalty or assess
ment if they don't owe taxes.
Many of these families may
have a substantial return com
ing More information on the
EITC and free tax preparation
sites will be available in the com
ing weeks through the Spilyay
Tymoo and KWSO. If you are
interested in volunteering at the
preparation sites, contact Tracey
Leslie at (541)553-3148. Train
ing for volunteer preparers will
be provided by the IRS.
Wrangler Cafe
. . .now this is REAL Bar-B-QU!
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Beef Brisket I BEST 0F SAlAD I Take Out Welcome!
Turkey Breast BARS! Mon-Fri 11:30 to 8:00
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