CASH Oregon: Portlanders Benefit...80 Times Over!

(From the May 2008 Newsletter)

When Dilshad came to the CASH tax preparation site at Portland State University, she was only looking to access free tax preparation services. As a single Middle-Eastern mother of five young daughters, she had been very responsible in filing her previous two tax returns. In both cases she expected refunds but unfortunately never saw a dime returned. With an income of $16,000/year through her job at a Portland nonprofit organization and tuition costs as she pursued a college degree in her “free time,” Dilshad needed those dimes and any other money she could scrape together. So the CASH tax volunteer filed her return electronically and shared the joyful news that she would be receiving $3,600 in refunds and credits. But the return was rejected—seven times. The CASH volunteer learned that the names and social security numbers did not match because the children were registered federally in their father’s last name. When it was finally corrected and settled, CASH also amended the 2005 and 2006 returns and Dilshad walked away with more than $10,000 to help raise her young daughters and pursue her education.

This is but one story of the more than 16,000 taxpayers helped by CASH this year. In only its third year of filing returns and accessing Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) from federal and state bureaus, CASH returned more than $4 million to lower income working families. On top of this, $12 million was returned in federal tax refunds to the taxpayers. That’s an 80x return on CASH’s $150,000 annual budget. State tax refund totals are not yet available, but also promise to add significantly to that number.

This work by SVPP Partners, in cooperation with AARP Tax Aide and the Oregon Tax Credit Coalition, a collection of organizations promoting EITC, has helped the local community access critical resources for some of its most disadvantaged working citizens. The average adjusted gross annual income of CASH clients this tax season was less than $20,000. At its Lloyd Center location, a CASH super site where more than 1,700 returns were filed, 62% of the clients where non-Caucasian (27% Hispanic, 21% Afro-American; 7% Asian; 2% Native American, 5% other/more than one).

In addition to helping families struggling to make ends meet, the credits and refunds returned to the community help spur the local economy with additional revenue. Research in other cities has also shown that the money returned has a 1.8 multiplier effect in the local economy because it is most often spent locally on rent, utilities, transportation and basic necessities.

While the refund figures are impressive for CASH third year of tax prep service, the IRS estimates that citizens of Portland may be eligible, but are not claiming more than $18 million in federal credits, with millions more in refunds available. This gap provides CASH and its supporters incentive to build its infrastructure and increase its outreach to unserved working families. It currently operates on a low budget and large volunteer base through AARP but is seeking government, foundation and private funding to scale up its efforts. It hopes to add additional “super sites” like its Lloyd Center location to provide tax credit access five days per week in a CASH-dedicated facility. All of its other locations are hosted sites only accessible one or two days per week. CASH is also piloting a financial advocacy program to provide education and coaching on money matters to its clients working on low fixed incomes.

To learn more about CASH Oregon, donate or get involved in this SVPP investment, visit www.CASHOregon.org or contact SVPP Team Lead Bruce Murray.