Who said grassroots organizing has gone the way of tie-dye t-shirts and lava lamps?

Last week, United Way of King County’s Free Tax Campaign served up a fresh piece of democratic activism by participating in the National Community Tax Coalition’s first ever VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Day of Action.

Across the county, hundreds of programs like ours met with the district staff of local Congressional members to stress the importance of the work we do, as well as the critical role the Earned Income Tax Credit plays in raising millions of low income workers out of poverty.

Here in King County, United Way and a few campaign volunteers met with the local district staffs of Senator Patty Murray, Congressman Jim McDermott, and Congressman Dave Reichert, all of whom expressed  support for the tax campaign’s continued growth and success.

They were also very receptive to the United Way and National Community Tax Coalition’s policy priorities, which included:

1) expanding the amount of federal grant funding for VITA programs (federal funding constitutes just under 1/3 of our tax campaign’s operating budget)

2) expanding the EITC benefit for “childless workers” and the working poor under age 25  (currently, a full-time minimum wage worker without dependents is not eligible for the EITC)

3) regulation of paid tax preparers by the IRS (your hair stylist or barber is required by law to be licensed, but the person who prepares your tax return is not)

You can click here for more specifics on the NCTC’s policy agenda, and here to view the Day of Action panel the NCTC convened in Washington D.C.

A big thanks to the  volunteers who participated in our meetings, and to the district staff for making time in their busy schedules for us. Hope to do it again next year!