“We’re giving back,” said Julie Séguin, during an interview at la Clinique juridque de Prescott et Russell (CJPR) on Main Street West in Hawkesbury.
Séguin, Annie Millette, and Pierre-Étienne Daignault at the CJPR have volunteered their time and expertise every year for several years now to help those who cannot afford the services of a tax consultant to get every possible benefit to which they are entitled when they file their income tax forms.
“These people are missing out on so much,” said Daignault. “A lot of benefits are not obvious. If these people do not do their taxes (forms) right, they can miss out on thousands of dollars. For some families, that is really important.”
“And that includes both federal and provincial (benefits),” said Millette.
All three noted that the 2023 federal and provincial budgets include a number of potential benefits for low-income families, seniors, and others that might go unclaimed because some people cannot afford to spare the money from their household budgets to pay for one of the professional tax accounting firms to go over their income tax forms and identify these new benefits and fill out the correct line in the form for a claim.
The three will meet with anyone who needs their help anywhere that the individual feels comfortable, whether at the CJPR office or at the public library or somewhere else.
“One person started to cry after our meeting,” said Séguin, explaining why the three of them volunteer their help. “She said to me ‘You don’t know what this means to me.’”
Anyone who needs the CJPR’s free assistance with income tax preparation can go to the office at 352 Main Street West, or phone 613-632-1136 or toll-free 1-800-250-9220, or go to www.cjpr.on.ca.
