Making Permanent Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Matching Grant Program
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, as we recognize tax day today, I applaud this body for advancing H.R. 2901, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Permanence Act.
I want to thank my colleague and commend him for his leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor. It has been good working with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo), and I look forward to continuing to do so.
This crucial program provides high-quality tax assistance to hardworking families to help those who can benefit from a program that is designed to help.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, offers free tax services to people who make less than 250 percent of the poverty level, and to underserved taxpayers, including persons with disabilities, the elderly, and limited-English speakers.
It is a prime example of smart Federal investment because each Federal dollar is matched by the private sector. The demand for VITA services is great. The number of tax returns prepared by the VITA program doubled between 2014 and 2016. In 2016, VITA grantees filed more than 3.8 million returns, helping families claim about $1.1 billion in earned tax benefits. In Illinois, over 23,000 returns were filed for almost $32 million in refunds.
With the new tax law, these high-caliber, in-person services are needed even more, especially in States like Illinois, affected by the SALT limitation. VITA services are top-notch. The Internal Revenue Service reported that VITA preparers have a 94 percent accuracy rate nationally on returns claiming the earned income tax credit.
Further, VITA services make a real difference for individuals and families. VITA sites are skilled at ensuring that taxpayers get all of the tax benefits for which they are eligible. These savings, coupled with the savings of hundreds of dollars in tax preparation costs, put more money in my constituents' pockets to cover the essential costs like rent, groceries, and medical care.
H.R. 2901 makes important changes to the VITA program. For example, in addition to permanently authorizing VITA, the bill allows the Secretary to fund the VITA grants up to $30 million. We have fully exhausted the recent appropriations of $15 million. The IRS estimates that 70 percent of Americans are eligible to file their taxes for free.
Given the high demand and need, H.R. 2901 recognizes that the IRS should put taxpayers first by giving them access to high-quality free services, doubling our Federal investment via this quality matching grant program.
Madam Speaker, I want to acknowledge and recognize the wonderful VITA sites in Chicago--the Center for Economic Progress, City-Wide Tax Assistance Program via Ladder Up, and I am especially pleased that the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago helps champion this program in my hometown.
As these programs do, many VITA sites provide additional programs to increase financial stability for families, and I am grateful for their presence in Chicago and other places throughout the country.
Madam Speaker, I also want to thank Ranking Members Neal and Lewis, Chairmen Brady and Jenkins, Senators Brown and Heller, former Representative Mike Honda, former Representative Xavier Becerra, the United Way, and Prosperity Now for their leadership in providing the permanence of this program.
And as I know people are struggling and running trying to get there fast before the deadline expires to file their returns, I am glad to know that those who needed it were able to get help.
Madam Speaker, I urge support for this program, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Again, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo), for his tremendous leadership on this issue. If one talks to someone who has used this service to convey their earnest sense of relief and gratitude for something that is called ``free,'' they save not only the cost of paying a tax preparer, but they also know that they have got all of the benefits for which they were entitled.
I represent thousands of low-income taxpayers, and the earned income taxpayer credit that they are able to get oftentimes lights up their life when it is time to file. Some of them are able to get benefits that they didn't think they were going to have, and so they give a real bit of thanks to those who helped them prepare and to know.
There are many adviser volunteers and I want to thank them-- individuals who give of their time, their energy, their knowledge, their expertise, and their effort to make sure that low-income taxpayers are provided all of the assistance that they need.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work on this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.
I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source