A group of Sault College business students received first-hand training in tax return preparation through the Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program.
More than 100 tax returns were completed for free during tax clinics offered to students at the college.
"The tax clinic program not only provides a valuable service to our students, but also offers an excellent opportunity for our students to gain practical experience in tax preparation and develop important skills that will be beneficial in their future careers while giving back to our Sault College community," says Sault College business professor, Barb Bringleson, in a news release.
Full text of the release follows:
Sault College takes pride in providing its students with valuable opportunities for experiential learning, enabling them to expand their practical knowledge and skills in their chosen areas of study. To support this, 14 Sault College Business and Business Accounting students participated in the Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) and used their knowledge and skills to offer free tax clinics to Sault College students. Together, the team prepared more than 100 income tax returns.
As part of the program, student volunteers received training materials from the Canada Revenue Agency to ensure they were well-equipped to offer this valuable service to the student community. The overall goal of the program was to assist our students who do not know how to prepare their income tax and benefit returns. For most of our students, their simple income situation makes them excellent candidates to benefit from this amazing service.
“We are proud to have our students participate in a meaningful program, such as this, and our student volunteers were amazing,” said Barb Bringleson, business professor and organizer of the tax clinics. "The tax clinic program not only provides a valuable service to our students, but also offers an excellent opportunity for our students to gain practical experience in tax preparation and develop important skills that will be beneficial in their future careers while giving back to our Sault College community," she added.
One of the student volunteers, first year Business student Jo-maree, shared the experience with the program, saying, "As an international student, I saw the difference of the tax season in Canada compared to other countries. Being a student myself, I also know that paying for an accountant to prepare taxes may sting budget-wise and I saw the tremendous value of the program. As a volunteer, I believe this has prepared me for future opportunities because it has helped me gain useful skills and knowledge that I will use repeatedly.”
Volunteer and first year Business Accounting student Paul Ryan worked with tax preparation in the Philippines and echoed this sharing that "being a student volunteer in the tax clinic has prepared me for my future giving me the opportunity to learn and gain practical hands-in experience in this area. I was also able to connect and network with different people and see how impactful this work was. I know this work will help me with a future career in Canada and I am grateful to Professor Bringleson for supporting and mentoring us.”
Anjaly, a student volunteer, adds that “financial education and awareness are important to me personally. I believe taking a proactive approach to taxes is beneficial, no matter what career you pursue. I hope we were able to provide a helpful and rewarding experience to all who used our services through the tax clinic.”
Sault College hopes to continue offering free tax clinics each year. For more information about Sault College Business Accounting program, visit Business - Accounting | Sault College.