About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

4 Lamplighter 1 (1992-1993)

handle is hein.journals/lmplgt4 and id is 1 raw text is: Income Tax Assistance in the Army COL. ALFRED F. ARQUILLA* The army remains the only military service with a comprehensive and ag- gressive income-tax preparation and electronic tax-filing program. By reg- ulation, commanders are responsible for the legal assistance programs within their commands. Part of that re- sponsibility includes supplying per- sonnel and other resources so that tax assistance services can be offered to eligible legal assistance clients, most of whom are soldiers and their im- mediate families. Reasons for Providing Tax Assistance Providing tax assistance is as much a part of the army legal assistance program as other legal assistance services, such as helping soldiers re- solve landlord-tenant disputes and do- mestic relations problems. The legal assistance program, as outlined in the new army regulation 27-3, is based on the army's need to maintain readi- ness, morale, discipline and a quality force. This need is met by army tax assistance services just as it is met by other legal assistance services. There is also another good reason for providing tax assistance services. The transient nature .of military service complicates the tax situation of many soldiers and takes them away from those in their families, such as par- ents, who might help them with their taxes. Also, filing tax returns for two or more states during one tax year is not unusual for a married soldier with a working spouse (or dependent chil- *Chief, Army Legal Assistance Office of the Judge Advocate General, United States Army. dren who work), or for a soldier who rents out his or her principal residence when stationed elsewhere in the United States or overseas. The extra effort required on the part of army lawyers to provide tax serv- ices saves soldiers and their families money-money that can be better spent, particularly by those on limited budgets-on food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities, such as child care. As with the money they save on other free legal services from the army, this army effort boosts morale and helps the army in its effort to retain quality soldiers. Planning Planning for tax services at army installations begins around August of each year for the the tax season that begins the following January. Attor- neys develop or update plans that cover such matters as responsibilities, procedures, policies, equipment, training, statistical records and re- ports, and command involvement and support. Obtaining command support is es- sential to the success of the effort. One important aspect of this support is getting commanders to publicize the army's tax assistance services at command briefings and conferences. Another is obtaining their cooperation in appointing well-qualified unit tax ad- visors, usually noncommissioned and junior commissioned officers, in each company or battalion-sized unit. These advisors do the bulk of the tax assis- tance provided throughout the army. Tax advisors and Army Community Service (ACS) volunteers, many of whom are family members of soldiers, are in turn trained by attorneys at each installation. Much of this training is done in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which spon- sors Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) seminars at army installations throughout the world. Results of the 1992 Income Tax Season The 1992 income tax season began last January and continued through April 15 for army installations in the United States and through June 15 for installations outside the United States. During the 1992 tax season, army law- yers, and those working under their supervision, prepared 1991 federal and state income tax returns and elec- tronically filed federal returns, in ad- dition to providing blank tax forms to clients and answering numerous tax- related questions for clients who pre- pared and filed their own returns. The following summary that ap- pears in the box below is based on a consolidation of all reports received from army installations, and repre- (Continued on page 7) Income Tax Assistance in the Arm y ............... 1 North Carolina's Legal Assistance Training C ourse .................... 2 Chair's Column ........... 3 Garnishment of Federal P ay ....................... 3 LAMP Committee A ctivities .................. 4 Pullout Section ........... 5

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most