Organizations host one stop shop for tax filers

Jonesboro, Arkansas – On Super Tax Day, a Saturday, Jonesboro citizens were given free tax preparation services.

Super Tax Day was sponsored at St. Bernards Auditorium by the United Way of Northeast Arkansas. The group collaborated with Southern Bancorp, which sent tax preparers to assist with income tax preparation.

“It’s the biggest lump sum of money people get and instead they’re paying $600 to get their taxes done then we just look at it as wealth building and it builds relationships with the community,” Mindy Maupin, a credit counselor with Southern Bancorp said.

According to Maupin, the money people save by not hiring a tax preparer also benefits the neighborhood they live in since they spend it there.

United Way has offered a day where people could file their taxes for free for many years, but this year they decided to expand their offering.

“We decided that we needed that piece that was missing after the taxes, so it’s the financial stability piece which is one of the three pillars of United Way,” Heather Coats, director of the community impact at United Way said.

At the Super Tax Day event, resources such as bankers, doctors, and even legal aid were accessible to people while they waited to submit their taxes.

Visitors had the opportunity to ask experts questions on health exams, will-writing, and mortgages.

“People need some help and so having the ability to get you taxes filed for free and then meet people in the financial world and ask them questions that maybe you don’t want to go to a bank and ask because you don’t know what to ask, so it’s kind of a one-stop shop here,” she said.

Despite the fact that many banks and law firms are closed on Saturdays, Coats was pleased to see that some did stop by Super Tax Saturday.

“The whole thing about Jonesboro and Craighead County is that they love their community and so it wasn’t difficult to get these people and the vendors to come out today and support the community because that’s what we do here,” she said.

Through April 18, anyone who still wants to file their taxes for nothing can go to Southern Bancorp on E. Highland Drive on Mondays or Thursdays.

April 18 is the last day to file income taxes.