Free Tax Preparation Bus Touring Philadelphia
By Cherri Gregg
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The April 18th tax deadline is less than two weeks away, and a local non-profit has teamed up with a bank to offer free tax preparation services for working families.
The Free Tax Preparation Bus is taking a tour of Philadelphia.
"We only have about a week left, so we really encourage people to come out," says Vonetta Robinson of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. The group's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) uses volunteer tax preparers to provide free filing services for working families making $54,000 or less, or individuals making $20,000 or less at 38 sites across the region. For the first time, they've partnered with BB&T Bank to take the effort on the road.
"It's a great way to bring the bus to communities that really need it," says Marilyn Hedge, regional Multicultural Banking Manager at BB&T Bank. She says their bus has traveled the country with stops in Florida all the way up the east coast.
The bus has three stops in Philadelphia this week: the Cheltenham Shop Right on Tuesday, then Shop Rites on Island Avenue and Oregon Avenue on Wednesday and Friday. The effort will help save last minute filers the cost of tax prep.
"Taxes -- they burnt a lot of people and I was one of them," says Shena Jones who filed her taxes in February. She paid $200 for services and didn't get a refund.
"Ya'll going to be out here next year," she said laughing, "if so, I'll be there."
United Way served 28,000 people with $40 million in refunds last year.
