On March 6, 2012, Rosenberg Martin Greenberg’s tax controversy group was honored and presented with plaques to commemorate their great efforts in becoming certified instructors for the U.S. Military’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program at Fort Meade.
The VITA program provides free, quality tax return preparation for military service men and women and their families. Volunteers are trained and certified to prepare taxes within the guidelines and limitations of the VITA program. The Military VITA program is a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service’s SPEC (Stakeholders Partnerships Education and Communication), the American Bar Association, and the U.S. Military.
The tax controversy group (Brian Crepeau, Jim Liang, Elizabeth Shaner, Brandon Mourges, Julian Lee, Seth Groman, and Timothy Wagner) met with the IRS and the ABA in mid-December to begin the certification process, which they completed over the course of the next several weeks. With each person certified to prepare basic, intermediate, advanced and military tax returns, the group then prepared course materials and during the week of January 9, each member of the group served as an instructor at Fort Meade, teaching military and civilian volunteers how to prepare military tax returns and address issues that may arise during the 2012 filing season.
The IRS plans to use our firm as the model for future Military VITA programs across the country and abroad.