February 10, 2006: NORTON AND D.C. NATIONAL GUARD AT SATURDAY NEWS CONFERENCE ON TAX EXPLOITATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2006

NORTON AND D.C. NATIONAL GUARD AT SATURDAY NEWS CONFERENCE ON TAX EXPLOITATION OF SOLDIERS AND RESIDENTS

Washington, DC – Major General David Wherley Jr., Commanding General of the D.C. National Guard, and Lt. Yolanda Lee, a member of the Guard back from the Iraq War, will join Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) at a news conference during her free Tax Preparation Fair on Saturday,February 11, at 11:00 AM in Room 145A of the Washington Convention Center, at 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW (L Street Entrance). They will urge members of the D.C. National Guard and reserves, and other residents to take advantage of free tax services available throughout the city for eligible District taxpayers, and to steer clear of exorbitantly high interest Rapid Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs), which are particularly attractive to low and moderate income families who want early access to their IRS refunds. Lt. Lee will relate her experience with expensive rapid refunds, and Major Gen. Wherley will speak about what Guard and Reserve members face in filing their taxes.

At the news conference, they also will encourage residents to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable federal tax credit for low to moderate income working families and individuals. A recent survey reported that most members of the Guard and reserves earn more while on active duty than in civilian life, and Norton believes that some may qualify for the EITC. As many as 10,000 EITC-eligible D.C. residents are not claiming the federal and the smaller D.C. EITC, and an additional 10,000 are claiming the federal credit, but not the D.C. EITC, according to government officials. Many are eligible for as much as $4,400.

This year Norton reached out with a special invitation to members of the D.C. National Guard, all of whom were sent information on Saturday’s Tax Fair. She had learned that, unlike regular active duty military, the Guard and reserves are not eligible to receive free tax preparation services on military installations. Norton also fears that, like other taxpayers, armed service personnel are vulnerable to radio and TV ads for RALs that target low and modest income residents and young taxpayers. The average taxpayer stands to lose about 13% of her refund or more than $200 in fees by using some commercial tax preparers. Norton said, “Disproportionately, those who receive these high interest tax loans also receive the EITC.”

Typical D.C. taxpayers,who file a variety of common 1040 forms, can have their federal and D.C. tax forms filled out by more than 80 tax professionals from the IRS, D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, and volunteer agencies, first come first served, free of charge from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Convention Center.D.C. residents also can learn more about qualifying for the local and federal EITC, Norton’s $5,000 Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit and many other tax credits and benefits.

Norton’s D.C.-only homebuyer credit and business tax incentives expired on December 31, 2005, but they are good for homeowners who bought in 2005 and will be retroactive upon expected final passage of the national tax reconciliation package, which includes the D.C. tax provisions, as early as next week. Both Houses of Congress approved a one-year extension of the credits at the end of last year, and they are now in the conference committee.

Norton’s popular annual Tax Fair, now in its sixth year, is open only to D.C. residents, who Norton says, “should not have to pay to pay the government that demands their taxes and their services in our armed forces without representation.”