VITA 2006

April 12, 2006

As tax season winds down, thanks go out to the dedicated band of volunteers who made our 12th annual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program a smashing success. We handled more than two dozen international students' returns, in an atmosphere marked by quiet competence, grace, and professionalism. The clients and their advisors from the College were all genuinely impressed and grateful.

Here is the honor roll of those who served in the workshop (veterans of last year’s program designated with a *):

Marjorie Berger

Christopher Coyle

Jeanhei Dabbagh

Lauren Holtzman*

Duncan Hwang

Katy Korman

Sophia Lee

Stacey Olson*

Monica Patel

Nick Patterson

Andrea Popa

Amy Rogers

Rachele Selvig

Nathan Shill

Theresa Tran

If I’ve left anyone off the list, sorry – please let me know right away. Thank you, all of you.

Special thanks also go out to three Law School staff members: Shirley Johansen, who gathered up all our forms and materials; and Barbara Homziuk and Lorraine Campbell, who whipped them into shape.

For next year, the IRS has relaxed the filing requirements for "nonresident aliens" – a development that may cut our international student client base down to a trickle. I will be on leave, but if a call for help goes out to the law school community, I trust that returning students with experience in this year's program will again come forward to volunteer. As our volunteers have discovered, it's a worthy cause and an interesting project!

Jack Bogdanski

February 28, 2006

To all Lewis & Clark law students:

I am writing to ask your help with a worthwhile pro bono opportunity -- the 2006 Lewis & Clark Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This is our 12th annual VITA program.  As always, noting that "charity begins at home," we will devote our efforts to helping international students at Lewis & Clark comply with their sometimes-onerous tax filing obligations in the U.S.  To participate, law student volunteers must be able to attend a 2½-hour training session on the afternoon of Saturday, March 11; to do a few hours of additional reading and thinking on their own; and to be available on Saturday, March 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., when our tax workshop for the international students will be held on the undergraduate campus.

No prior tax experience is necessary!  The training will give you the skills you need to participate, and all work will be done in two-person teams under my supervision.

In addition to tax return preparers, we also need volunteers to oversee copying and assembly of documents, which takes even less technical skill.  So there is room for every law student to participate.

If you are interested in serving as a volunteer this year, please contact me at bojack@lclark.edu.  You will be contacted soon with updates about the training session, and the written materials we will be using in connection with that session.  I'll be keeping a list of interested students on this web page.

Please consider signing up for this important pro bono project.  In addition to helping your fellow students, you are guaranteed to learn some things about U.S. international taxation!

First- and second-year students are especially encouraged to join us, as I will be on sabbatical next year, and we may need you to become next year's leaders of this program.

Thanks for considering this.

Jack Bogdanski

Created by: bojack@lclark.edu
Update:  12 Apr 06
Expires:  31 Aug 07