[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5246]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE ACT

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I support the Volunteer Income Tax 
Assistance Act. Each year, tax payers across the country utilize 
accountants, tax software, and lawyers as they prepare their returns. 
For millions of low-income families, high-cost, high-tech tax 
assistance is not an option. As a result, the families most in need of 
tax preparation assistance--low- and moderate-income families, 
including elderly and disabled taxpayers--will fail to file their taxes 
or miss out on valuable tax credits.
  The IRS created the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, VITA program in 
1969 to assist individuals and families in submitting their Federal tax 
returns. For decades, this program operated predominantly with the 
resources and facilities of community partners. In 2007, Congress 
created a demonstration program awarding matching grants to VITA sites 
to serve additional low-income individuals and families. Since 2008, 
the VITA grant program has grown to over 200 grant recipients but is 
still only able to fund about two-thirds of grant applicants.
  During the 2014 Federal income tax filing season, VITA programs filed 
approximately 1.7 million tax returns. Of those 1.7 million returns, 
more than 551,000 claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit as part of 
nearly $2.5 billion in tax refunds that went to VITA tax filers. In 
addition, VITA programs improve accuracy in the return process and 
reduce IRS costs by e-filing. In 2014, VITA program tax returns were e-
filed 96 percent of the time, compared to 86 percent for the rest of 
the population.
  Funding for the VITA program remains insufficient to meet demand and 
has not been made permanent. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Act 
would ensure that volunteers and nonprofits across the country can 
continue to provide essential tax preparation services each spring by 
creating a permanent matching grant program for VITA sites. The act 
would also build on the success of the VITA program by creating a 
National Center to Promote Quality, Excellence, and Evaluation in 
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. Through the center, VITA's many sites 
would have a mechanism to share best practices and create a more 
efficient and sustainable program to serve a large number of low- and 
middle-income families.
  I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting working families by 
cosponsoring the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Act.

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