[September 2008]

Officials say local taxpayers are not the only ones reaping the benefits of this year’s federal economic stimulus payments.

Intense interest in the stimulus checks also helped boost local economies by pumping more than $3 million in refund dollars back into the region after an unprecedented number of taxpayers in seven counties took advantage of an annual free tax preparation effort, officials with the Eastern Kentucky Asset Building Collaboration (EKABC) said.

According to recently released figures, the EKABC prepared and filed nearly 4,800 returns this tax season that are expected to result in a total of more than $3.2 million in federal refunds being circulated back into local economies.

The number of returns prepared was more than twice as many as expected, making this year the effort’s most successful year ever, according to Jennifer Weeber, director of community programs for Hazard/Perry County Community Ministries, a key EKABC partner.

“It has been a wonderful partnership and I think a wonderful way to provide a good service to the people of eastern Kentucky , and at the same time bring back millions of dollars which have a huge economic impact,” Weeber said.

This tax season marked the fifth year of the EKABC, a multi-agency cooperative effort bolstered by the involvement of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP), its JobSight network of workforce centers, and a number of community action programs that are partners in the JobSight network.

Weeber said this year’s effort outstripped expectations in both free tax preparation and the delivery of money management and asset-building assistance and education. For more information on the asset-building assistance program, click here.

The collaboration also helped taxpayers claim larger refunds under the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) law.

IRS-trained volunteers at agencies in Pike, Perry, Bell , Johnson, Owsley, Knox, and Whitley counties had a goal of preparing 1,955 tax returns between January and May, she said.

But they more than doubled that goal by helping thousands of people—mostly low-income seniors who do not normally file taxes—fill out and file an IRS form necessary to obtain the federal economic stimulus check. Some of those agencies are still offering help with the brief form, which can be filed until Oct. 15.

Adding this year’s numbers to data from previous years shows that since the 2003-04 tax season, the EKABC’s free tax preparation efforts have brought in a total of about $8.6 million in refunds to 9,400 eastern Kentucky taxpayers.

Weeber said the annual free tax preparation service is now something many people in the region have used and told their friends, neighbors, and family members about. Word-of-mouth, she said, helped bring many clients to the doors of the participating agencies.

This year, those agencies included: Big Sandy Area Community Action Program (Big Sandy Area CAP), Bell-Whitley Community Action Agency (Bell Whitley CAA), Owsley County Action Team, KCEOC Community Action Partnership, L.K.L.P. Community Action Council, and Hazard/Perry County Community Ministries. The Hazard/Perry County Housing Development Alliance did not participate in tax preparation, but did provide financial education.

Big Sandy CAP, Bell-Whitley CAA, KCEOC Community Action Partnership, and L.K.L.P. are also locations in the JobSight workforce network.

Janie Hackney, JobSight One-Stop coordinator, said holding many of the tax preparation and money management classes at JobSight locations provided a great opportunity to introduce taxpayers to the many services JobSight offers to help adults and young people find jobs.

Those services include career counseling, financial and other help with education and training, job fairs, and JobFit, an online job-matching service that helps job seekers find the right job for them.

The tax program’s continued popularity is a good thing for the local area, Weeber said.

“Our tax preparation is free,” she said, adding no refund-assistance loans are provided.

“A person gets back his or her entire refund,” Weeber said, “and this year the effort brought over $3.2 million back into eastern Kentucky that went into the hands of families to spend on the needs that they have.”

To learn more about the JobSight network, visit www.jobsight.org.