Yesterday, the House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee released a preliminary budget proposal for the fiscal year 2018 that would cut federal Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) funding to $7.5 million—down 50% from the FY17 budget of $15 million. While this sounds like terrible news, there is still time to act and stop this cut from becoming a reality. VITA programs and the taxpayers served by them need you to lift your voice and demand that Congress preserve and protect VITA for next year’s tax season!
There are several steps between this action and the bill becoming law—and we will need your help all along the way. The first step is to let your Representative know how critical VITA is to your community. Please call your Representative and urge them to ensure that VITA is funded at $15 million in the FY18 budget. Here is a sample script, feel free to modify as necessary:
Hello, my name is [your name] from [your organization or coalition] in [Representative's district, name, city and ZIP code], and I’m calling to request that Representative [Representative’s last name] protect the Community Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) matching grants program. This program was cut in the FY18 House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill from its FY17 funding level of $15 million to $7.5 million. The VITA program leverages volunteer support to provide free tax preparation services to millions of low- and moderate-income working individuals and families in some of the most underserved and hardest-to-reach communities across the country. I am deeply concerned about how this will affect our community. [Include brief VITA data from your community or state.] I’m requesting that Representative [Representative’s last name] take every action to ensure that the VITA program receives $15 million in funding in the FY18 final House Appropriations bill.
Once you have a chance to speak with your Representative, please provide feedback on the response here. This information helps us follow up with offices and hold them accountable to protecting VITA.
We know how important the VITA program is to you and the millions of Americans who depend on free and quality tax prep. We will keep you updated as the budget process continues, and let you know additional actions you can take to ensure VITA is fully funded. Thank you for making your voice heard on this important issue and for everything that you do on behalf of low- and moderate-income Americans across the country. If you have any questions or need any additional information, please email our Senior Policy Manager, Joanna Ain, at [email protected].
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