Law Student Video Wins LITC Tax Education Contest
Brianna Pine, a third-year law student at W&L Law and student attorney in the Tax Clinic, won first place in a recent tax advocacy contest sponsored by the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) grant program.
The LITC held the contest to entice clinics to develop creative ways to educate the public on the importance of ensuring their tax withholding is correct throughout the year. For her submission, Pine created an educational video using animation and a voice recording that explains withholdings, why it is important to check your withholding, the penalty for under withholding, how to avoid the penalty using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimators, and, if necessary, using the results to amend the Form W-4.
As the contest winner, Pine was recognized at the annual grant conference in December in Washington, D.C, where she was able to present the video. The video is available online on the law school’s YouTube channel.
The W&L Law Tax Clinic receives some of its funding from the LITC, a program sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service. Law students working in the Tax Clinic provide free legal representation to low-income taxpayers in resolving their controversies with the Internal Revenue Service. The Clinic students assist taxpayers with audits and a wide array of collections issues. The clinic also represents taxpayers in cases before the U.S. Tax Court.
In addition, students in the Tax Clinic undertake outreach efforts to educate taxpayers on tax law issues of relevance to low-income and working families. For example, students created a presentation and explanatory materials on the changes resulting from the tax reform bill passed in December 2017 and also presented on the earned income tax credit at the annual statewide legal aid conference.
