Tax Aid of New Mexico

To: Dr. Savior From: Jennifer Doherty Date: December 7, 2013 Subject: Tax Aid of New Mexico Recommendation Report OBJECTIVE: Tax Aid of New Mexico is a non-profit organization focused on helping low income families who are having problems with the IRS as well as helping low income families with their taxes, and to find them the biggest refund they are entitled to. OUR MISSION: To assist New Mexicans with taxes, tax help, and the Internal Revenue Service. Promote better tax help and understanding about the tax system through the United States government. SERVICES OFFERED: 1. Procedures: A. B. Assist low income individuals with filing their yearly tax returns. Assist low income individuals with tax issues through the IRS.

a. Tax issues include: Owing over 10,000 dollars to the IRS, being hassled by the IRS because of incorrectly filing taxes. C. Assist low income individuals in the tax system throughout the United States

a. Tax system throughout the United States: How to file taxes in different states, different returns, and tax credits low income families apply for. BENEFITS Now that Tax Aid of New Mexico has become fully operational and is able to stand on their own, we will be able to assist New Mexicans throughout the state. We will be able to educate New Mexicans on taxes, and prevent them from getting into tax problems again. They will also have a deeper understanding of the tax system throughout New Mexico. We will also be able to travel throughout the state of New Mexico to provide this service to everyone, and hold more and more functions to raise money and awareness for this organization. HOW WE ARE NOW: The function of a magic show put on my Tax Aid of New Mexico was a huge success. Many people brought their families to watch the IRS disappear. It was something that was truly enlightening. We received some clientele as well as different amounts of donations for such a great organization and a great cause. We look forward to doing another benefit like this one to reach out to the low income tax community and let them know that we are here for them.

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Have you ever had some trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or some money issues that you were afraid were not going to be solved? Those things can be pretty scary, especially if your income is below 35,000 dollars a year. You are not sure where you can go to receive creditable help, and for low, or no cost to you. That is what Tax Aid of New Mexico specializes in. We tell our clients to never be afraid of the IRS. They are nothing but a large corporation, and we can help you reason with them. Tax Aid of New Mexico is a credited low income taxpayer clinic. (LITC) LITCs are something special with the IRS. They are approved to help these people with their struggles of the government. Our mission and goal is to help you get out of your tax troubles, and stop the IRS from breathing down your neck. Helping lower income tax families is something that is very rewarding. You are able to see the weight of debt lifted off peoples shoulders, as they are given the chance to finally breathe again. Tax Aid of New Mexico has a central location here in Albuquerque, and is also able to travel throughout the state of New Mexico. Our company is something that is like no other. Being specifically branched in New Mexico, the demographics are an obstacle that needed to be overcome. Low Income families are something that New Mexico has a lot of, but you could not spot them just walking on the street. Nurses, teachers, city bus drivers, college students and many more. Tax Aid of New Mexico helps those individuals as well as low income families. The low income families that had the most struggle are the younger couples who have had children together, and are struggling with the adaptation of that young child in their life. Taxes are the last thing they are thinking about. We reach out specifically to younger couples with children. We are able to help them get the maximum refund from their child, which is

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usually a lot. Our company portrays a simple minded goal, to help you with your taxes, no matter what. Low income in New Mexico is also the elderly. Elderly people move here because of the low cost of living. It is something that they can afford. With the current economy crashing, most people lost their retirement money in the stock market. With the move to New Mexico, they were able to get a calm and warm environment without breaking the bank. I would know firsthand, this happened to my grandmother. She was living in Phoenix, and lost all of her money through the stock market. Older people also need our help, seeing as they have been taxed on multiple retirement accounts and stocks. Older people owe hundreds of thousands of dollars to the IRS because of back taxes through their retirement fund that does no longer exist. Tax Aid of New Mexico takes these problems, and works out smaller payment plans with the IRS, and eliminates the late fees and most of the fees that come with the IRS. We are able to that a hundred thousand back tax and reduce it to half. Therefore these grandparents have more money to hand off to their grandchildren, and a stiff warning to their grandchildren to invest money, and to be careful while investing money. Taxes no matter where you go are a constant problem in a society. Helping different people with their taxes is something that can spread far and wide. Most times young low income couples are friends with other young low income couples. By these couples seeing that they are getting out of their problems with the IRS, or they are getting a larger refund, they will come and ask us for help as well. Here in New Mexico, when you have wealth you are held at a higher social standard. Low income tax families see young couples with wealth and want to be held to that higher social standard as well. When we help a young couple, this knowledge is passed down and up throughout the generations. Low income tax families are able to show other low

Tax Aid of New Mexico

income tax families the relief that the received. This is a lifelong skill, and a great way to build more clientele and help more people throughout the New Mexico region. We are also able to travel throughout the state of New Mexico. Being able to travel is one of our biggest assets as a company. Not only are we able to provide this service to people all over New Mexico, but we are also able to never say no to a client, or have that client travel away from their family because of tax help. This strengthens the bond of a client and Tax Aid of New Mexico, as well as strengthen the bond of family in that region. When mothers and fathers do not have to travel away from their kids, it makes the home life a lot steadier. When mothers and fathers also do not have to travel from home, it shows a sense of value and commitment throughout the family. As well as it shows the family that we are getting this problem fixed. Which goes back to passing this throughout the generations that are in the family. Most of the research that was conducted was done all on our own. We are proud to say that we are the only LITC in the state of New Mexico that is dedicated to helping specifically low income people, and doing it all for a low fee, or pro bono. New Mexico according to the IRS is ranked number 43 in the lowest population in the entire United States. With a number like that, most of the population in New Mexico is low income. The reason why we started this non-profit organization is to help people. Me, personally, I have watched my parents become lower class New Mexicans. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and lost her job and claimed disability. My fathers income did not support both of them. In turn, they did get into some tax trouble because of such a decrease in income. My parents did not know where to turn except for my mothers family that live in Kansas. Out there, people were able to give them advice. Its a constant struggle for people who just want to do well, and pay their bills, and also stay on their feet. Seeing this struggle go throughout my own

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family, made me realize that I needed to start something that could help lower income families who are trying to stay on their feet as well. There has been research that has been collected about low income tax payer clinics, but not necessarily in New Mexico. Low Income Tax Clinics were something that was started back in the 1970s by a group of law students that were very interested in taxes. From then on, these law student fought to have the tax laws reformed, and to help low income families find different solutions probono to their tax solutions. Finally in 1998, tax laws were revised, and low income families were able to seek free tax help. They just had to meet a certain income requirement. Since then, donations and grants have been established to help low income tax families with their problems. According to the image on the left, donations and funding for LITCs has increased since 1999. This shows great progress for LITCs as funding is something that is so scarce. It also shows how many LITCs have opened throughout the entire United States. Sadly, as you can see if you take a look at 2011 to 2012, LITCs funding is decreasing throughout the years. This is why it is

Tax Aid of New Mexico

so important that there are people to support these low income communities. Funding could continue to decrease, which would hurt every LITC that is currently working so hard to help people. Another thing that really deserves the spotlight is all of the volunteers who help with all of the clinics. Attorneys are more than half of the amount of people that are working with these low income families. That being said, students are second with the amount of help that they give. An attorney helping you with your tax problems is something that is absolutely amazing. Not to mention that most of these attorneys do this kind of work pro-bono. This helped us here at Tax Aid of New Mexico not feel so alone in our struggle to help out New Mexicans with their tax issues. Knowing that attorneys are helping these cause as well as students shows a sense of community that Tax Aid of New Mexico hopes to reach one day.

Recently Tax Aid of New Mexico put on a magic show that made the IRS disappear. This was a he success throughout all of the state. We were able to lure out most low income

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families for the free event of a magic show. When people were presented with an easy way to make the IRS disappear and a humorous way as well, they were more apt to coming and speaking to us about their struggles and how we could help them. Some people had simple questions such as how to fill out a W-2, while some families were in serious tax trouble and were having wages garnished. Since then, Tax Aid of New Mexico has helped out more than 20 different people from those shows, and are not slowing down there. We have lists upon lists of names and people who are seeking professional tax help. There are 3 main problems that we have. There are over 40, 000 households that are low income, and there is not enough tax help to go around. Tax help needs to be shared throughout generations and passed down like a story. There is a language barrier specifically to New Mexico. With our first main issue, there is simply a high demand for this service. I would like to see more volunteers with this program, and a government incentive for people do help. They should be rewarded through our government. The second issue needs to be resolved by teaching. By teaching and showing moms and dads how to do their own taxes, they are able to pass this knowledge throughout the generations. With wiser tax help, parents will not be stuck on how to help their children with their first W-2s when they start their first job. It is something that can be passed throughout generations, seeing as the simplicity of a W-2 will not change for a while, as well as simple forms such as 1099 to file taxes. There should also be more online resources that are free and can be accessed by people who are struggling with their taxes and problems with their taxes.

Tax Aid of New Mexico

The third issue is a language barrier. Not only do we need more multilingual people here in New Mexico, but we also need to turn the forms into different languages. Which has already been done, but sometimes when those forms are changed, the meaning changes. Definitions also need to be given on these forms. Most people who speak a foreign language have never had an interaction with the IRS, so they do not understand the foreign language that is on the IRS tax form. I would like to personally thank everyone and their contributions to Tax Aid of New Mexico. We are strong, growing, and thriving. We hope to continue to grow with your support behind us. These problems are something that are going to be difficult to overcome, but we are confident that we will overcome these problems, and be able to help and educate multiple generations and families.

References
Service, Internal Revenue. Low Income Tax Payer Clinic. September 2013. Document. 5 December 2013. Service, Tax Payer Advocate. "LITC Program Report." February 2013. IRS.gov. PDF File. December 2013.

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Reflection Taking a look back at this course, it was honestly everything that I expected it to be. When I enrolled in the class I thought I would be writing business letters, grants, and proposals. I wrote all of those. The first day of class, I was expecting to walk into the class, and be given a paper right away. Instead we were given the assignment of creating a non-profit organization based on the major that you were in. Being an accounting major, I had absolutely no idea what to do. I picked taxes, because I wanted to help people out of their tax trouble. I enjoyed this assignment, and did not enjoy it at the same time. I am not a creative person. Having to do something creative like design a website and be graded on it sounded horrible. It still sounds horrible, but writing a grant on putting on a function sounded like a challenge and like fun. I enjoyed writing the papers in this class, but did not enjoy the creative side of this class. This class will fit into the larger picture of my major by helping me write technically. My English professor Matthew was the first person to tell me that my paper was not what it should be. No other English teacher in my entire life has ever told me that. English has always been a strong suit of mine. I believe the purpose of 219 is to help students write better e-mails, and professional reports. You do need that in the business world after all. This class over all was something that was a joy to be in. There was never a heavy demand for papers, which was a relief for me. Though in this particular class I almost wish there was one or two more papers. I would have enjoyed writing a little bit more grants. I would recommend that everyone take English 219 to professionalize their writing.