IRS Expands Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic Grants,
Awards $4.4 Million to Programs in 32 States

WASHINGTON - In another step to expand legal assistance for taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service has awarded more than $4.4 million in Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic grants to 70 groups across the nation.

The IRS announcement Thursday marks a major expansion of the matching grant program, more than doubling the number of clinics receiving grants. This year’s awards go to a variety of higher education and non-profit groups that operate clinics offering low-cost legal assistance in tax matters. The IRS program, now in its second year, encourages the creation and growth of Low-Income Tax Clinics from coast-to-coast.

These grants represent an important step in our continuing work to help nurture and expand Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics, IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti said. These clinics fill a critical need. They reach out to help people who frequently have nowhere else to turn for legal assistance on tax matters. The program approved by Congress and President Clinton in 1998 allows the IRS to award organizations matching grants of up to $100,000 a year to develop, expand or continue Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics.

For fiscal year 2000, the number of clinics receiving IRS grants more than doubled. This year, 70 programs will split $4,442,547, up from 34 groups in fiscal year 1999 that divided $1,458,267.

The clinics selected for this year’s grants include 31 from last year’s group and 39 new grant recipients. Later this spring, the IRS will announce an additional set of clinic grant recipients for fiscal year 2000.

To qualify for the program, tax clinics may be run by law, business or accounting schools -- whose students represent taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS or in the courts -- or by tax-exempt organizations.

These groups can represent taxpayers in tax-related matters, refer taxpayers to qualified representatives and provide non-English speaking taxpayers information about their tax rights and responsibilities. Clinics may charge taxpayers a small fee for legal help.

The IRS awards the grants based on a variety of factors, including the clinic program’s quality of service, the number of low-income taxpayers served and how many people in the clinic’s service area use English as a second language.

For years, the IRS has been helping low-income taxpayers through such programs as Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), now in its 30 year. More information about those programs th can be obtained by calling the IRS’s toll-free help line at 1-800-829-1040. Rossotti said the clinics mesh with the IRS mission statement of providing America’s taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.” This program provides an ideal match with our goal of providing better service to taxpayers, Rossotti said. Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics can play a vital role in providing access to tax assistance for people, regardless of their income.

The groups selected by the IRS for this year’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic grants are:

ALASKA - Alaska Business Development Center, Inc., Anchorage, AK, $54,202

ALABAMA - Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Atmore, AL, $61,891. Lawson State Community College, Birmingham, AL, $50,000.

ARKANSAS - University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, Little Rock, $48,589.

ARIZONA - DNA-People's Legal Services, Inc., Window Rock, AZ, $99,905. Community Legal Services, Inc., Phoenix, AZ, $57,644.

CALIFORNIA - California State University Hayward School of Business & Economics, Hayward, CA, $39,111. Chinatown Service Center, Los Angeles, CA, $44,831. Central California Legal Services, Fresno, CA, $39,170 University of San Diego School of Law, San Diego, CA, $100,000 California State University Northridge, Department of Accounting & MIS, Northridge, CA, $22,235. Chapman University School of Law, Orange, CA, $100,000. Korean Resource Center, Los Angeles, CA, $55,300.

COLORADO - University of Denver College of Law, Denver, CO, $62,431.

CONNECTICUT - University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, CT, $100,000. Quinnipiac College School of Law, Hamden, CT, $100,000.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC, $100,000. Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), Washington, DC, $30,000.

FLORIDA - Legal Services of Greater Miami, Miami, FL, $100,000. St. Thomas University School of Law, Miami, FL, $100,000. Central Florida Legal Service, Inc., Daytona Beach, FL, $12,250. Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, $59,393.

GEORGIA - Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta, GA $100,000.

HAWAII - Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, $50,380.

IOWA - Legal Services Corp. of Iowa, Des Moines, IA, $31,586.

IDAHO - University of Idaho College of Law, Moscow, ID, $100,000.

ILLINOIS - Chicago Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL, $99,062. Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chicago, IL, $41,000. Korean American Resource and Cultural Center, Chicago, IL, $24,000. Center for Law and Human Services, Chicago, IL, $100,000.

KENTUCKY - Legal Aid Society, Inc. (Volunteer Lawyer Program), Louisville, KY, $41,000.

LOUISIANA - New Orleans Legal Assistance Corp., New Orleans, LA, $15,448.

MASSACHUSETTS - Bentley College, Waltham, MA, $100,000. Neighborhood Legal Services Inc., Lynn,MA, $17,646.

MARYLAND - Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, Inc., Baltimore, MD, $92,131.

MICHIGAN - Legal Services of Eastern Michigan, Flint, MI, $46,223. Accounting Aid Society, Detroit, MI, $25,000. Hispanic American Council, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI, $10,000. Legal Aid and Defender Association of Detroit, Detroit, MI, $65,000. Michigan State University, Detroit College of Law, East Lansing, MI, $100,000.

MINNESOTA - University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN, $59,953. Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, Minneapolis MN, $60,000. Accountability Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN $25,000.

MISSOURI - Univ. of Missouri Kansas City Tax Law Foundation (KC Tax Clinic), Kansas City, MO $100,000. Budget and Financial Management Assistance, Kansas City, MO, $90,800.

NORTH CAROLINA - University of North Carolina at Greensboro Department of Accounting, Greensboro, NC, $100,000.

NEBRASKA - Nebraska State Bar Association Volunteers Lawyers Project, Lincoln, NE, $20,800.

NEW JERSEY - Rutgers Law School, Piscataway, NJ, $100,000. Cape Atlantic Legal Services, Atlantic City, NJ, $50,000.

NEW YORK - Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, $56,821. Brooklyn Legal Services, Brooklyn, NY $100,000. Fordham University School of Law, Bronx, NY, $70,625. Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County, Rochester, NY, $8,070. Young Korean American Service & Education Center, Inc., Flushing, NY, $30,250. Westchester Community Opportunity Program Inc., Elmsford, NY, $100,000. Circulo de la Hispandid, Inc., Long Beach, NY, $70,000. Asian Americans for Equality, New York, NY, $100,000.

OKLAHOMA - Community Action Project of Tulsa County, Tulsa, OK, $75,085.

OREGON - Lewis and Clark College Northwestern School of Law, Portland, OR, $31,408. Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO), Hillsboro, OR, $21,000.

PENNSYLVANIA - Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, PA, $88,502. Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA $56,856. Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Philadelphia, PA, $57,395. American Financial Counseling Services Inc., Wayne, PA, $50,700. University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA, $53,356.

RHODE ISLAND - Rhode Island Tax Clinic, Providence, RI, $100,000.

TENNESSEE - Rural Legal Services of Tennessee, Inc., Oak Ridge,TN, $100,000.

VIRGINIA - The Community Tax Law Project, Richmond, VA, $100,000.

Washington - University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA, $59,294.

WEST VIRGINIA - West Virginia University School of Law, Morgantown, WV, $11,202

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