Tax volunteers also offer compassionate ear
It's anybody's guess what Ray Sussmann and his fellow volunteers will see and hear this month as they continue helping senior citizens file their income tax returns.
Some of the volunteers have been providing the free service for more than 25 years at the Dundee Township Public Library. But those years were good years when the economy was strong and a blip in the prosperity was no more than a burp.
The global financial upset that has put millions of people out of jobs, crashed stocks and wiped out pensions and retirement funds no doubt will be a new experience for the seasoned American Association of Retired Persons volunteers.
"Oh, we'll see a drop in dividends in stocks," predicted Sussmann, a West Dundee resident. "We'll probably see a lot more too."
It's too early to predict how much money has been lost or how many tears will be shed over it. But, the volunteers will be ready with tissues and sympathetic ears when they greet their elderly clients, he said.
They've become used to hearing sad stories told by widowed spouses who aren't used to filing state and federal income tax returns themselves. Many of the stories came with the clients carrying shoe boxes filled with receipts.
As the volunteers pulled out the crumpled pieces of paper and sorted them into piles, they have heard tales of when dreams homes were bought, nest eggs were started and bank accounts for college funds were opened.
"It would take one person hours just to sort through what they had in those boxes," said Sussmann who coordinates the five tax volunteers. "And it would take us even longer to do the addition and subtraction."
This year all the returns and arithmetic will be done on computers. That will save some time and volunteers will avoid computation errors, but the stories no doubt will continue, he said.
It will also save clients the cost of stamps because the returns will be filed over the Internet.
Before the first return was filed, the Dundee Township area volunteers who work with Sussmann - Terry Hensley, Bob Lawson, Bob Albrecht, Merv Hagan and Tom Weber - were trained and tested by the Internal Revenue Service on changes in the income tax code.
Most of them are not retired accountants. They've worked in various jobs, are retired and want to donate time to their communities and neighbors.
Because they are not tax experts, they can only handle simple returns, void of complicated trusts and investments. If more attention is needed, they will be the first to direct a senior to an accountant or tax lawyer, Sussmann said.
The sour economy is not expected to complicate simple returns because only the numbers and not the situations have changed.
"There's nothing really drastically new in the tax code. We've been doing this for so long we know the code pretty well," he said.
The free service is offered at the Barrington Avenue library from 9 a.m. until noon every Thursday until April 15. Appointments are needed. To schedule one, call the library at (847) 428-3661.