The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) is a collaboration program between community organizations and Canada Revenue Agency. We host tax clinics on campus (in BEC, Gustavson School of Business) for eligible individuals, most of them are university students, especially international students. Sessions were held in three hour sessions from 10am to 1pm twice weekly on Fridays and Saturdays.
As a CVITP volunteer with the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, I filed 2015 income-tax returns for our clients during our clinics, excluding the Easter weekend, during the months February to April. Even though we only guaranteed simple income, I did my best to address those complicated tax situations. That is because I was working in an Accounting firm, I received professional training from it. And this is also the best time for me to use what I learned to help our community.
The most unforgettable experience was that I filed income tax for a couple who came to UVic to work as Teaching Assistants. They came 15 minutes before the clinic closed, but I still accept their file. I occurred to be a complicated one. There are several employment slips, tuition slips and scholarship information to input. In addition, because they are able to claim the moving expenses, I spent extra time to finish it. At the end, I spent 45 minutes extra to finish the whole process. Although it took a long time, I still felt very glad when the couple knew they were going to get a refund!
Overall it was a great and worthwhile experience for me. Not only did I learned how to help those in need, I also found ways to improve my client conversations. Customer conversations is an area I must continually work on especially for the field of work I want to pursue a career in, and this was a great opportunity for me to continue developing ways to speak with clients.
As a CVITP volunteer with the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, I filed 2015 income-tax returns for our clients during our clinics, excluding the Easter weekend, during the months February to April. Even though we only guaranteed simple income, I did my best to address those complicated tax situations. That is because I was working in an Accounting firm, I received professional training from it. And this is also the best time for me to use what I learned to help our community.
The most unforgettable experience was that I filed income tax for a couple who came to UVic to work as Teaching Assistants. They came 15 minutes before the clinic closed, but I still accept their file. I occurred to be a complicated one. There are several employment slips, tuition slips and scholarship information to input. In addition, because they are able to claim the moving expenses, I spent extra time to finish it. At the end, I spent 45 minutes extra to finish the whole process. Although it took a long time, I still felt very glad when the couple knew they were going to get a refund!
Overall it was a great and worthwhile experience for me. Not only did I learned how to help those in need, I also found ways to improve my client conversations. Customer conversations is an area I must continually work on especially for the field of work I want to pursue a career in, and this was a great opportunity for me to continue developing ways to speak with clients.