The IRS and private businesses and nonprofits have teamed up to educate people with disabilities about their finances.
By Tom Scott
Improving financial assistance and independence for people with disabilities is currently being accomplished through a public-private collaboration titled the Real Economic Impact (REI) Tour.
The REI Tour is a national initiative spearheaded by the Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC) department of Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which focuses on providing tax awareness and education, tax preparation assistance, and financial literacy to lower income individuals within local communities; the National Disability Institute (NDI), a national research and development organization that promotes income preservation and asset development for persons with disabilities nationwide; and the Bank of America Foundation. Formerly known as TaxFacts+, the REI Tour is designed to provide Americans with disabilities with insight, tools, and resources to improve their lives through financial education, training, and counseling through community partnerships that link consumers to nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private sector companies.
Rapid Expansion
The program began in 2005 in 12 US cities and assisted 7,800 individuals with disabilities file for the first time. It expanded to 30 cities in 2006, assisting over 17,000 individuals with disabilities, and gaining the support of numerous national organizations including Goodwill International, National Easter Seals Society, The Arc of the United States, the National Council on Independent Living, and the World Institute on Disability. The REI Tour is active in 54 cities this year and is projected to assist over 25,000 new tax filers with disabilities receive $21 million in refunds.
Outreach and education activities in each participating REI Tour city include:
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• volunteer tax preparation assistance
• financial education classes
• training about access and use of public benefits
• special events to connect financial institutions
• credit, debt, and homeownership counseling
• audio conference series to all stakeholders on issues regarding accessible sites, tax provisions and credits, public benefits, etc.
• training about federal work incentives to promote self-sufficiency
“We hope to eventually provide financial and tax assistance in over 100 US cities,” says Richard Keeling, IRS Senior Tax Analyst, SPEC.
Free Advice
Keeling, a quadriplegic who was injured in a diving accident in 1975, began working at the IRS in 1982 as a customer service representative in Albany, New York. Presently based in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife and young daughter, he strives to help others with disabilities gain economic independence.
“The IRS realized that its outreach and education efforts were not working within the disabled and lower income communities,” Keeling says. “SPEC was created to address this issue by establishing partnerships on the national and local level, including with members of volunteer, community, faith-based and government organizations, financial and educational institutions, and businesses. Through strong collaborations such as our partnership with NDI and other organizations we have the ability to offer financial assistance and free tax planning services to people with disabilities on a much larger scale.”
For a complete listing of REI Tour Cities and participating businesses and organizations that can assist you with your taxes and finances, please visit www.realeconomicimpact.org/cities/.
Tom Scott is staff editor.
Tax Assistance Information
Real Economic Impact Tour: realeconomicimpact.org/index-build.htm
Internal Revenue Service: www.irs.gov/
Tax-Related Questions/Customer Service Line: 1-800-829-1040Taxpayer Advocate Service: www.irs.gov/advocate/
Phone: 1-877-777-4778National Disability Institute: www.ndi-inc.org/
The United Way: national.unitedway.org/211/
Goodwill Industries: locator.goodwill.org/
American Association of Retired People: www.aarp.org/money/taxaide/
