Free Income Tax Preparation at St. Thomas University

MIAMI,  Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Income tax filing deadlines are approaching at a time when most households are looking for ways to save on discretionary spending and  activities they can handle on their own. For decades, Miami's St. Thomas University School of Law has offered a wide array of clinical programs conducted by law school students as a unique opportunity to practice public interest law as they further their legal experience and skills. One way the South Florida community can immediately benefit is through the Law School's Volunteer Tax Assistance Program (VITA), a partnership between St. Thomas University and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

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Reinforcing its mission of public service and social justice, STU had created a mandatory Pro Bono program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, requiring students to participate in 40 hours of community service and pro bono work prior to graduation. VITA remains the oldest pro bono program at the STU School of Law, with students preparing income tax returns for low income individuals free of charge.  Tax law students volunteer their Saturdays in the spring to assist the community, a large majority of members being non-English speaking residents. Over 150 returns have been done since the last week in January 2011, assisting individuals by receiving thousands of dollars back from the IRS.  

Participating law students are exposed to great client interaction. Their enthusiasm is contagious, like Samantha Levokove's, Juris Doctor candidate 2011, who is also coordinating a Student/Faculty VITA Day, whereby employees and students can benefit from free tax preparation.  

VITA has flourished under the leadership of Law School Professor, Dr. Mark Wolff. For  more than 21 years Dr. Wolff has taught  courses in various areas of Federal Income Taxation, Comparative International Taxation, Tax Policy, Agency and Partnership, and Corporations, Corporate Taxation, Contracts as well as Advanced Jurisprudence Seminars. As a professor at Saint Thomas University School of Law he was the recipient of the University-wide John Cardinal Newman Award for Excellence in Teaching.

In the domestic arena, Professor Wolff was elected to public office in 1987, serving as Vice Mayor and Commissioner for the City of Coral Gables. His track record is too long to list and includes participation in the American Association of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta and as member of the Board of Directors of the Human Rights Institute at St. Thomas University. In the international arena, Professor Wolff currently serves as an International Vice President of Pax Romana/International Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs and as Main Representative of Pax Romana to the United Nations. He also founded and is Director of the STU Law School/ Pax Romana United Nations Internship Program at the Main Offices of the United Nations in New York.

For additional information on St. Thomas School of Law, please visit www.stu.edu/lawschool or call 305.623.2310

SOURCE St. Thomas University