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Tax assistance center opens Feb. 8

Posted at 1:57 pm February 4, 2022
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Center will open on Tuesday.

The VITA program is an Internal Revenue Service initiative to help taxpayers by providing trained volunteers to prepare and electronically file individual tax returns at no cost to the taxpayers, a press release said.

Oak Ridge VITA program will again be housed at the United Way Offices at 728 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. Hours are from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays. The office is staffed entirely by IRS certified volunteers-preparers, greeters, and computer experts. United Way of Anderson County provides funds for software and provides office space, the press release said.

COVID-19 protocols were instituted for the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons and will be in place again this year. VITA tax preparers will not meet in person with taxpayers, but they will prepare taxes and communicate by telephone with taxpayers as needed, the press release said. Taxpayers will need to bring their materials to the United Way office, where greeters will help assure that all materials needed are included.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Federal, Front Page News, Government Tagged With: income tax, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Oak Ridge VITA, tax assistance, tax returns, VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Center

Final days for Volunteer Tax Center

Posted at 2:28 pm April 12, 2019
By DIANE EDWARDS Leave a Comment

April 15 is just around the corner, and the IRS VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Center is ready for the final rush. Volunteers at the Tax Center have submitted 1372 during February and March with a total of $1,650,441.00 refunded to citizens of Anderson, Roane, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, and surrounding counties, a press release said. The Center can process 160-180 returns each week.

The VITA program is designed to assist senior citizens and low-to-medium income individuals and families. There is no charge for this service. The VITA Tax Center is sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and supported by the Anderson County United Way. Taxpayers need to bring photo identification, a copy of last year’s return, Social Cecurity cards for all people listed on a return, health coverage forms, all relevant income forms (W-2s, 1099s, Social Security annual statement) and documentation for daycare, education, and itemized deduction expenses, the press release said.

The Tax Center is located in the Trinity Center at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. It is open Tuesday-Friday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon. Taxpayers are seen on a first-come basis. Volunteers will also be available on Monday, April 15, from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

This press release was submitted by Diane Edwards.

Filed Under: Business, Community, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Tax Center, United Way, VITA, VITA Center, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Oak Ridge free income tax service opens Jan. 30

Posted at 10:00 am January 16, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) office will open Tuesday, January 30.

The VITA program is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) initiative to help taxpayers by providing trained volunteers to prepare and electronically file individual tax returns at no cost to the taxpayers, a press release said.

During the 2017 tax season, almost 2,000 returns were prepared at the Oak Ridge site, and taxpayers received more than $2,100,000 in tax refunds, the press release said. The site served taxpayers from 17 Tennessee counties. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Oak Ridge Tagged With: Diane Edwards, free income tax service, individual tax returns, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, Trinity Outreach Center, United Way of Anderson County, VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Cromwell files $137 million in liens against law enforcement, IRS, Social Security

Posted at 4:37 pm February 15, 2017
By John Huotari 5 Comments

Lee-Cromwell-Preliminary-Hearing-Jan-15-2016

Lee H. Cromwell, the Oak Ridge man convicted of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, has filed $137 million in liens against local law enforcement officials and agencies, as well as against the Internal Revenue Service and a Social Security service center, according to state records. Cromwell, who was convicted after a fatal parking lot crash at the Midtown Community Center after fireworks in Oak Ridge on July 4, 2015, is pictured above during a preliminary hearing in Anderson County General Sessions Court on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 p.m. Feb. 17.

Lee Harold Cromwell, the Oak Ridge man convicted of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault on Wednesday, has filed $137 million in liens against local law enforcement officials and agencies, as well as against the Internal Revenue Service and a Social Security service center, according to state records.

Cromwell has been indicted by a grand jury in Davidson County in Nashville on Class A and Class E felonies. Officials announced those indictments after Cromwell was convicted at the end of his vehicular homicide trial in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation elaborated, saying that Cromwell was one of 11 people indicted in a 320-count indictment after a one-year investigation into fraudulent liens in East Tennessee that was conducted with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. So far, 10 of the 11 people have been arrested on charges of unlawfully filing liens and making false entries into records, the TBI said. Multiple other state, county, and local law enforcement agencies participated in the arrests on Wednesday.

Seven of those arrested, or more than half of them, are from Anderson County. They claim to be “sovereign citizens,” or people who do not typically “believe that they have to abide by the rules everyone else follows because they have declared their personal independence from government,” said Dave Clark, Anderson County district attorney general.

TBI special agents began their investigation at the request of Clark in May 2016. They were helped by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Anderson County, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Police and Fire, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Adam Ghassemi, aggravated assault, Dave Clark, Don Elledge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, fraudulent liens, fraudulently filed liens, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, James Scott, Lee Cromwell, Lee H. Cromwell, Leslie Earhart, liens, Midtown Community Center, parking lot crash, Paul Summers, Social Security, sovereign citizen, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Secretary of State, Tony Craighead, Tre Hargett, vehicular homicide, Vickie Bannach

Big change for FAFSA: Students can complete 2017-18 FAFSA starting Oct. 1

Posted at 8:46 pm September 25, 2016
By Roane State Community College Leave a Comment

fafsa_change

Roane State enrollment assistant Josh Adkins and student Kaylee Avila of Harriman look over the online form for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which will become available to fill out in October. (Photo by RSCC)

 

Recent changes to this important application for college financial help should help ease the process of filing it.

It’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which students must complete to be eligible for financial aid including Pell grants, the HOPE scholarship, and Tennessee Promise scholarship.

New this year: The FAFSA will be available on October 1 instead of January 1 for the upcoming school year, which runs from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018.

The second major change is that the required financial information from the Internal Revenue Service can be used from the prior year’s income tax return, so there’s more certainty. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Front Page News, K-12 Tagged With: FAFSA, FAFSA applications, financial aid, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, Hope Scholarship, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Pell grants, Roane State, Roane State Community College, Robin Towson, Tennessee Promise scholarship

Sheriff’s Department warns IRS scam is happening again

Posted at 8:25 am August 16, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

IRS Scam

The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department has again received reports of the Internal Revenue Service scam being perpetrated in Anderson County.

The callers represent themselves as IRS agents threatening arrest for overdue income taxes.

“Please be aware the IRS does not call anyone in this manner, and these types of calls are scams,” said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy. “Never give out personal information over the telephone.”

For more information, visit the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/uac/report-phishing.

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County Sheriff's Department, Internal Revenue Service, Internal Revenue Service scam, IRS, IRS scam, Mark Lucas

Candidate visit: Cruz vows to repeal ‘Obamacare,’ calls for abolishing IRS

Posted at 3:15 am December 27, 2015
By John Huotari 4 Comments

Ted-Cruz-Sign-Farragut-High-Dec-23-2015

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 p.m.

FARRAGUT—Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” and he also called for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service during a stop at Farragut High School on Tuesday.

Cruz spoke for about 30 minutes in the Farragut High gym before a standing-room-only crowd of roughly 2,000 people, who helped him celebrate his 45th birthday with a birthday song and cake. The East Tennessee rally was held a little more than two months before the March 1 “SEC primary.”

A first-term Texas senator, Cruz said he plans to rescind every unconstitutional executive order, ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Planned Parenthood, end the persecution of religious liberties, and “rip to shreds” the Iranian nuclear deal, which he called “catastrophic.”

Cruz also said the U.S. Department of Education should be abolished, and welfare benefits should end for people who are in the country illegally. He pledged to protect the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, called for killing the Environmental Protection Agency, and jokingly compared regulators to locusts, with a difference being that pesticides can be used to control locusts. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Affordable Care Act, Ben Carson, Betsy Grace, Bob Dole, Bryan Davis, Donald Trump, Environmental Protection Agency, Farragut High School, Internal Revenue Service, Iranian nuclear deal, IRS, ISIS, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Obamacare, Planned Parenthood, Republican presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan, SEC primary, Ted Cruz, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, Wall Street Journal

Roane Sheriff part of investigation that leads to long sentence for pill mill operator

Posted at 11:54 pm August 30, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

A Chattanooga pill mill operator was sentenced to 280 years in federal prison on Thursday, and the Roane County Sheriff’s Office was among the law enforcement agencies that participated in the investigation that led to her indictment and subsequent conviction, authorities said.

Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,” 61, of Rossville, Georgia, was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Judge, said United States Attorney William C. Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee.

After a 25-day trial that spanned almost three months, Lang was convicted of two counts of conspiring to distribute and dispense Schedule II and IV controlled substances, outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose; five counts of maintaining a premises for the purpose of distributing controlled substances; and 14 counts of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements, a press release said.

Lang was charged along with three other people. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Police and Fire, Roane County, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Aunt Bea, Barbara Lang, Charles Larmore, Chattanooga Police Department, Curtis L. Collier, Daniel R. Salter, DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, Eastern District of Tennessee, Elite Care, Faith Blake, Gregg L. Sullivan, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Jerome Sherard, Michael D. Porter, opioid pain medication, pain clinic, pill mill, pill mill operator, prescription drugs, primary care, Roane County Sheriff's Department, Roane County Sheriff’s Office, Rockwood Police Department, Sherard Clinic, Superior One, Superior One Medical Clinic, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tracy Stone, U.S. District Court, U.S. District Judge, United States Attorney, William C. Killian

IRS tax scam reported again in Anderson County

Posted at 1:05 am March 20, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The IRS scam has been reported again in Anderson County, said Mark Lucas, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy.

“Scammers are making calls threatening arrest for not paying taxes or similar ploys to obtain money from unsuspecting citizens,” Lucas said. “The Anderson County Sheriff’s Department warns everyone not to fall victim to these frauds and scams.

“Please be aware the IRS does not make such calls.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Front Page News, Police and Fire Tagged With: Anderson County, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, IRS, IRS scam, IRS tax scam, Mark Lucas, taxes

Roane sheriff plays role in indictment, conviction of Chattanooga pain clinic owner

Posted at 10:15 pm January 28, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 1 Comment

Jack Stockton

Jack Stockton

The Roane County Sheriff’s Department was one of several law enforcement agencies that took part in an investigation that led to the indictment and conviction of the owner of two pain clinics, or “pill mills,” in Chattanooga, authorities said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were also involved in the investigation that led to the convictions of four people, including Barbara Lang, a.k.a. “Aunt Bea,” 60, of Rossville, Georgia, who owned and operated Superior One Pain Clinic and Primary Care Pain Clinic in Chattanooga, federal officials said.

Lang was convicted of drug trafficking and financial crimes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Police and Fire, Roane County, Top Stories, U.S. Tagged With: Aunt Bea, Barbara Lang, Charles Larmore, Chattanooga Police Department, drug conspiracy, Drug Enforcement Administration, drug trafficking, Elite Care, Faith Blake, financial crimes, Gregg L. Sullivan, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, Jack Stockton, Jerome Sherard, medication, Michael D. Porter, narcotics, opioids, oxycodone, pain clinic, pill mill, pills, Primary Care Pain Clinic, Roane County Sheriff's Department, Rockwood Police Department, Sherard Clinic, Superior One Pain Clinic, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tracy Stone, U.S. Attorneys' Office, U.S. District Court, Xanax

IRS scam reported in Anderson County

Posted at 4:30 pm January 28, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

An IRS scam making its way across East Tennessee has now made it to Anderson County, authorities said. During the scam, residents receive telephone calls threatening them with arrest for not paying their taxes.

Here is information from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department regarding the scam: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Anderson County Sheriff's Department, IRS, IRS scam, taxes

Library has limited tax forms this year

Posted at 10:01 pm January 14, 2015
By Dawn Huotari Leave a Comment

Submitted

The Oak Ridge Public Library has supplied the community with federal and state tax forms for the past several years. This year, the United States Internal Revenue Service is severely limiting the amount and types of forms the library and other institutions can order for the public.

For tax year 2014, only the 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ forms will be available at the Library. No instruction booklets or other forms or schedules will be received for the public. No employer tax forms will be available at the Library, including W-2, W-3, W-4, and instructions for these forms. Form 1096, Annual Summary, and Transmittal of U. S. Information Returns, and Form 1099, Miscellaneous Income, will not be available at the Library.

Most tax forms not available at the Library can be printed for the cost of 10 cents a page from the IRS website at www.irs.gov. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge Tagged With: IRS, Oak Ridge Public Library, tax forms, United States Internal Revenue Service

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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