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ANNUAL MEETING NOTICE
CTA’s upcoming annual meeting serves two purposes: to review the season just past and to elect the Board for the next fiscal year. All volunteers are invited to attend. This is a great way for new volunteers to know learn more about what CTA does.
Here are the details:
WHEN: Tuesday, June 11, 2019. The meeting starts at 6:15pm
WHERE: Fountain House, 425 West 47th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenue), New York, NY 10036. If you have any questions regarding our annual meeting, please contact us at generalinfo@communitytaxaidnyc.org
CTA ONE DAY EVENT
CTA ONE DAY EVENT
CTA ONE DAY EVENT
SUBMITTED BY EMIL GOMEZ
I want to assure you that the above headline is not a typo.
CTA has been involved with our One Day Events (ODE) since the 2014 tax season. An ODE is a short-term arrangement with certain organizations. Due to several reasons, including the need for adequate staffing of volunteers, the nature of these events lasts just one day. It is our hope that the relationship can grow and the locations involved in ODEs can one day evolve into full-fledged storefronts. As of the date of this article, this past season saw CTA participate in seven ODEs.
We try to accommodate as many groups as possible. And CTA did just that in early April, but it came at a cost. CTA participated in three straight events on three consecutive days.
Monday, April 8 saw six volunteers report to the Chelsea office of Corey Johnson. Mr. Johnson is the Speaker of the City Council. This was our third year at his office. It felt like a reunion of old friends, with CTA servicing the same taxpayers as in the prior year.
The next day three volunteers traveled to the East NY section of Brooklyn. We participated in an ODE with a new organization, the Institute for Community Living (ICL). The East NY Clubhouse, another of our ODE locations, recommended CTA to ICL. According to its website, ICL's mission is “to assist individuals and families affected by or at risk of mental illness or developmental disabilities with integrated comprehensive care designed to improve their wellbeing, recovery and participation in community living.” Having their income tax returns prepared can be added to the list of tasks needed by these members. Sixteen tax returns were prepared that day. The staff of ICL would like CTA to return next year. It appears to be the start of a good location for us.
Wednesday, April 10 was perhaps the most challenging day for us. This ODE, held at the Freelancers Hub in Brooklyn and co-sponsored by the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, was unusual in that we prepared returns of self-employed individuals. If any of you have prepared this type of return, you know that the self-employed individual is responsible for paying FICA/Medicare taxes on the net earnings of their fledging businesses. Additionally income taxes have to be calculated and assessed as well.
The twelve taxpayers we saw were very grateful for our services. All the taxpayers know the responsibilities they have with making their business a success, but they also looked at us as their accountants. Our roles there took on a new meaning. Although we prepared their returns, we also offered advice on how to look at things, tax-wise, going forward.
I previously mentioned that this three day marathon came at a cost: no days off! We usually have a couple days to ourselves before we go to a storefront. Due to this years’ calendar, this was not to be.
However, the following individuals helped to make this marathon a leisurely sprint. Special recognition goes to our CTA Superheroes:
Sheldon Barasch, Ira Bowles, Tamara Lopez-Jimenez, Tamara Sokolowsky (aka L and S!), Nishtha Dwivedi, Kitching Yau, Keisha White and Emil Gomez.
Here are some pictures of the ODEs. You are welcome to volunteer at an ODE next year if you like.
MONDAY, APRIL 8 – (I to r) CTA volunteers Kitching Yau, Nishtha Dwivedi, Emil Gomez and Keisha White flank a happy taxpayer at the ODE at the offices of Corey Johnson.
TUESDAY, APRIL 9 – (I to r) CTA volunteers Keisha White, Emil Gomez and Nishtha Dwivedi are greeted by ICL representative Ana Miguel.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9 – CTA volunteer Emil Gomez prepares the return of the last taxpayer of our three day ODE marathon, held at the Freelancers’ Hub.
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