In the Spotlight: CCCNMO Tax Clinic

By Marisa Tesoro

Photo by Valérie Berta

The idea first struck in January: a partnership with the Daniel Boone Regional Library, VITA Tax Program professionals and Catholic Charities Refugee Services to help new refugee arrivals complete their tax returns at no charge.

The Daniel Boone Regional Library had an existing program where professional tax preparers volunteer their skills every year from January to April 15. So Catholic Charities Refugee Services Community Engagement Coordinator, Valérie Berta, figured why not combine efforts to assist Columbia’s newest neighbors?!

The tax preparers were all for it.

“Those volunteers were so excited,” Berta said. “They were so forthcoming and really wanted to do this. And they were actually doing this on their day off! They are booked and had no time to fit us in. So they came in on Tuesday, which was their day off when they don’t do this at the library.”

Berta initially had a list of about 25 clients who could benefit from such an event, but shortly after spreading the word about the upcoming “tax clinic” on March 22, the list began to dwindle. First to 14-15 and then only to about 6-7.

But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

“Thank heavens we didn’t have 25 people because we’d still be there,” Berta said.

They had originally planned on each client needing about 15-20 minutes because they only had a W-2. But with three tax preparers working at a time and only about seven clients in need of assistance, they still ended up needing the whole day to prepare everyone’s taxes properly.

“There were all sorts of things they didn’t know or had to navigate, like immigration statuses for Afghan Parolees,” according to Berta. “So maybe it would have been different or easier with the other refugees that we work with. But for Afghan Parolees there were things they had not anticipated.”

Berta learned so much from planning this event and can’t wait to do this all again next year. They’re also planning a follow-up event to further assist clients:

How can we better prepare our clients and their employers so that when they start a job, they know how to fill out all those tax deduction questions better so we don’t have this same problem next year. Like a general tax and immigration informational session for our clients.

Once the dust settles from tax season, those same tax preparers will be hearing from Berta and the Refugee Services team, who are always looking for new ways to better support their new neighbors in the community.