SGA to focus on student-run tax website, charity events this semester
SGA President Chuck Mahone stands in for President Ross at the Senate Meeting in Pearce Hall in Room 138, Oct. 28, 2014.
Student Government officials are establishing a free-to-use tax website for students to provide help to students during tax season.
Chuck Mahone, president of SGA, said the tax website would be in partner with the Honors Accounting fraternity, Beta Alpha Psi.
Members of the fraternity who are IRS certified will help students fill out their tax forms.
Mariah Urueta, vice president of SGA, said the website would also come equipped with “top notch tax software” from H&R Block.
“If a student were to run into a problem or get stuck on a process, they could be talked to by a certified professional and helped through (filing taxes),” she said.
The website also will be available in “multiple languages," according to Urueta, in order to be all inclusive to students who do not speak English as their first language.
What sold SGA on creating a website rather than having in-person tax assistance, Ureta said, was the necessity to be available to all students despite scheduling constraints.
“(SGA) was debating on whether in-person would be better because you get that one-on-one assistance, but the reality is that because we would have to rent out a lab, the hours would be very limited,” Mahone said. “By taking it to the online realm, (tax help) would be 24 hours which would allow us to help students in any way, shape or form.”
A help line for the website will be established, with hours set from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
While a URL for the website is unavailable as of now, Mahone said it should launch in February, just before the start of tax season.
Alongside establishing the website, Mahone and Urueta also revealed plans for a charity Color Run this coming April. The charity Angel Wings is being considered to be this year’s recipient of the funds raised.
“The foundation is related to Damon Brown, the Director of Student Activities and Involvement,” Mahone said. “It will be great support for him, great support for the organization, and just something that we want to get behind.”
The charity, created in memory of Brown’s wife, who passed away from cancer last year is dedicated to raising scholarship money for children who have had a parent pass away due to cancer.
This semester’s first SGA meeting will take place the Monday after MLK Day on the Jan. 26.
