TAXES: Volunteers assist 6,000 folks

The Idaho AARP Tax-Aide program for District 2, which includes Kootenai and Shoshone County, finished the 2012 income tax filing season having completed more than 5,000 returns and assisting more than 6,000 taxpayers — for FREE. District 2 includes sites at Lake City Center, Post Falls Senior Center, Rathdrum Senior Center, Athol Community Center and the Silver Lake Mall. The taxpayers who used the service received more than $3.6 million in refunds, money which could be well used locally.

Tax-Aide would like to thank the sites for hosting us each year. Thanks also to the 80 individuals who volunteered more than 10,600 hours of time during the season. We couldn’t have provided the service without the help of sponsors, including: Frontier Communications, Avista Utilities, Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho, Coeur d’Alene Press, Spokesman-Review, Nickel’s Worth, the KXLY Radio Group, the IRS, United Way and the Idaho Tax Commission.

The program will continue next year and asks that more volunteers step up by calling (208) 446-6997.

ED EICHWALD

Coeur d’Alene