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Coolican: Helping the needy helps the economy

Tax preparation volunteers bring relief to many who are intimidated or preyed upon

William Nichols gets his taxes done Saturday at Pearson Community Center in North Las Vegas. Nichols owes taxes for several years, but volunteers are relieving his anxiety.

By J. Patrick Coolican (contact)

Friday, April 8, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

There’s nothing more loathsome than preying on poor people. And there’s plenty of predators in the federal income tax game. By this I mean both shoddy and legitimate firms that charge exorbitant fees to prepare tax returns of the underprivileged or sell tax “refund anticipation loans” — a high interest, short-term loan secured in advance of the taxpayer’s expected refund.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/apr/08/helping-needy-helps-economy/