Saturday is a Go for Norton’s Tax and Financial Services Fair and Press Conference

WASHINGTON, DC – The snow has been cleared and the little that may come Saturday morning will not stop Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-DC) annual free Tax and Financial Services Fair tomorrow, Saturday, February 15, 2014, from 10 a.m. – noon at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (801 Mt. Vernon Place NW). The Fair may go beyond noon if people arrive late and are still waiting to be assisted. At an 11:00 a.m. press conference, in room 149A, Norton will be joined by Solomon Keene, President of the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C., and Teresa Hinze, Executive Director of Community Tax Aid. At the press conference, Norton will address the status of several of her D.C. tax initiatives, including the $5,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. Solomon Keene will speak to the potential benefit to D.C. businesses of Norton's pending bill to offer employers a $5,000 tax credit against the payroll tax liability for each new net person hired who has been unemployed for 27 weeks, which would encourage employers to look twice at the long-term unemployed. Teresa Hinze will highlight the effect on Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites of continued budget cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

"The roads are cleared and a few snowflakes will not stop our free tax preparation for D.C. residents," said Norton. "All D.C. residents pay federal taxes without a vote in return. These residents, above all, should not have to pay to pay."

The Tax and Financial Services Fair is for D.C. residents only, and preparation of tax forms is only available to residents with a household income of less than $52,000 a year and income only from wages, salaries, and pensions. Norton's one-day Fair features tax preparers who serve on Norton's Congressional Tax and Financial Services Advisory Committee, whose services are available throughout tax season, until April 15. The Fair offers not only tax preparation, but also financial services, including information on the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program, college savings plans, and how to sign up for credit unions.

Members of the Tax and Financial Services Advisory Committee participating in the Fair are: AARP, Community Tax Aid/DC EITC Campaign DC EITC Campaign, DC Employees Federal Credit Union, DC Office of Tax & Revenue, George Washington University Law School, Howard University, Janet R. Spragans Federal Tax Clinic, Taxpayer Advocate Service, UDC School of Business, UDC Low Income Tax Clinic.

Published: February 14, 2014