OT: Walmart Foundation free tax prep

[BHoffman]

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/wal-mart-foundation-teams-up-with,711110.shtml

Our government is now funding free tax prepartion services, estimated to save the public $45 million in tax preparation fees.

[taxmandan]

"The IRS estimates that approximately 20 percent of eligible individuals and families are unaware that they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable federal income tax credit for low-to moderate-income individuals and families."

What are they smoking? Everyone earning less than $50,000 knows about the free money from the government, aka EITC.

[Snaggletooth]

Wal Mart

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...h,711110.shtml

Our government is now funding free tax prepartion services, estimated to save the public $45 million in tax preparation fees.

Haven't figured out what angle Wal-Mart has in this. Be not deceived - WalMart doesn't do ANYTHING without a motive.

[thomtax]

Snag - Walmart got you into the store (traffic) and with everything they have available, you will probably pick something up there. Maybe you would buy elsewhere, but its handy while you are in the supercenter. And look at the advertising opportunity about how they are helping their poor customer.

LT

[taxmom34]

in our walmart HRB has an office with one preparer on duty in case someone wants to stop in to do their taxes

[rgtaxservice]

a penny saved...

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...h,711110.shtml

Our government is now funding free tax prepartion services, estimated to save the public $45 million in tax preparation fees.

Which means the gov't will spend 75 million to give the public a 45 million free benefit. By the time our great great grandchildren pay for this part of the deficit, it will be closer to 2 billion.

[BHoffman]

Where is our bailout? The government is transferring $45 million of our income. We're rich folks. It's the patriotic thing to do.

[Black Bart]

Not too much damage to us.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...h,711110.shtml

Our government is now funding free tax prepartion services, estimated to save the public $45 million in tax preparation fees.

The article says a grand total of FIVE vans are parked at: San Francisco/ Salt Lake City/ Brownsville, TX/ Jacksonville, FL/ Washington, DC.

Also they exhibit the typical dopey/amateurish bureaucratic approach to tax timing -- saying "(vans) will set up in WMT parking lots for two or three weeks at a time between February 10th and April 11th."

EITC prime time was last week, still good this week, beginning to slow about Feb.15th, then gradually tapering off and generally over Feb. 28th. RAL EITC returns are halfway gone now and will be pretty much finished by the end of this week. After March 1st it's mostly C-E-A/other biz folks.

The low-on-dough EITC folks definitely don't let the grass grow under their wallets and those mobile "tax pros" will be looking out their trailer windows wondering what the hell has happened to that "20% of Americans who are unaware of the EITC."

[BHoffman]

I still want the bailout. Each of those 5 vans are going to crank out tax returns that are worth $9 million in tax prep fees. It just isn't fair. We're victims. I want money.