By Alan Lytle
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wuky/local-wuky-999321.mp3
Lexington, KY – Last year thousands of low and middle income Kentuckians qualified for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, but did not claim the benefit. State and local officials want to change that situation this year. Monday morning at the United Way of the Bluegrass headquarters, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, Sixth District Congressman Ben Chandler and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear encouraged eligible Kentuckians not to leave that money 'on the table'.
"To see if they qualify for the EITC tax payers can go to a website: assistance.ky.gov. Also on this site Kentuckians can find a list of almost 200 places where they can get free help from IRS-certified volunteers in preparing their taxes and specifically for filing for this credit", Beshear said.
In tax year 2010, the average awarded credit for the EITC was Twenty-Two hundred dollars. According to Governor Beshear, 97 percent of that money got pumped back into the state and local economy.
Because April 15th falls on a Sunday, and the District of Columbia's Emancipation Day Observance shuts down federal government offices the following Monday, the deadline for filing state and federal tax returns has been extended this year to Tuesday April 17th.