Business School Students Offer Help In Preparing Tax Forms

Low-income Boston residents struggling to prepare their tax returns are now receiving additional aid thanks to a new community outreach program launched last week by six Harvard Business School students.

The non-profit program, Community Tax Aid of Boston, has already began serving residents in 11 locations, helping more than 100 taxpayers in its first week. Those individuals who have a yearly income of less than $9000 and those families with an income no greater than $14,000 qualify for the aid.

Richard B. Siegrist, a second year business school student and one of the program's founders said yesterday that a recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cut-back on-free tax preparation services has in part, prompted the group's efforts. Starting this year, the IRS will only provide help for the blind, the illiterate and members of Congress, Siegrist added.

Half of the program's 130 volunteers are Harvard Business School students, Siegrist said adding that because of the large community participation, he expects CTA to be an organization which can provide continuos, stable tax form aid to the Boston community from year to year.

The program will serve the neighborhoods of Roxbury, South Boston, Dorchester, East Boston, South End: Allston, Jamaica Plain and possibly Chinatown, Siegrist added.

"This is a great way for business school students to use their skills in a productive way as a service to the community," he added