National campaign provides Latinos with education on taxes and how to protect against fraud

USA - English

• Latin America - español

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The recent focus on providing an accurate tax history could increase Latinos' vulnerability to fraudulent services. To help address Spanish-speaking taxpayers' need for trustworthy and credible help, Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF), in partnership with H&R Block – the world's largest consumer tax services provider – is educating and assisting thousands of Spanish-speaking taxpayers across the country.

"All Latinos, not just those affected by immigration changes, need tax education that they can trust," said Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation. "Whether filing this year's return or those from years past, an accurate tax history is a tool necessary to prepare for the future – it'll have an impact on many areas of life including citizenship, healthcare, college loans and even home ownership."

The campaign "Prepárate Para Un Futuro Mejor" (Prepare Yourself for a Better Future) provides nearly 200 free tax education workshops with bilingual tax experts in 18 markets nationwide. These workshops emphasize the importance of building an accurate tax history, provide insight on how to protect against fraud and misinformation in the tax preparation process, outline how to meet some important health care requirements of the Affordable Care Act and explain the impact of immigration rule changes.

"This campaign has helped tens of thousands of Latinos with concerns about immigration status, past experiences with fraud and inadequate tax preparation," said Arce. "With the rapid growth of the Latino population, it is essential to help them successfully navigate the United States tax system. With a better understanding of the filing process, we can strengthen our families, communities and nation."

With immigration changes placing a greater emphasis on providing an accurate tax history, more individuals will be seeking outside tax assistance. Due to issues like language barriers or a lack of understanding of the process, Latinos have made an easy target for those looking to take advantage of those in need.

"Latinos are subject to a myriad of fraudulent services and misinformation when it comes to the actual tax preparation," said Arce. "Through building better understanding and knowledge in our communities, Latinos can become vigilant in protecting themselves."

Since 2010, HAF has held over 1,000 tax education workshops in more than 800 churches and community spaces nationwide. A complete list of upcoming workshop dates and locations during the 2015 tax season is available at www.pormifuturo.org.

About Hispanic Access Foundation
Hispanic Access Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that improves the lives of Hispanics in the United States and promotes civic engagement by educating, motivating, and helping them to access trustworthy support systems.  For more information visit www.hispanicaccess.org.

About H&R Block
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is the world's largest consumer tax services provider. More than 650 million tax returns have been prepared worldwide by and through H&R Block since 1955. In fiscal 2014, H&R Block had annual revenues over $3.0 billion with 24.2 million tax returns prepared worldwide. Tax return preparation services are provided in approximately 12,000 company-owned and franchise retail tax offices worldwide by professional tax preparers, and through H&R Block Tax Software products. H&R Block Bank provides affordable financial services products. For more information, visit the H&R Block Newsroom at http://newsroom.hrblock.com/.

Contact: Robert Fanger
P: 317-410-7668
E: [email protected]

SOURCE Hispanic Access Foundation

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