February 21, 2002
Tax clinic serves low-income clients
Many UW students and staff who have disputes with the Internal Revenue Service may be eligible for free counseling and representation from the Law School.
The UW’s 2-year-old Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic gives law students real-world experience in tax practice while offering a public service, said clinic director Scott Schumacher.
The service is open to all Washington residents below a specified annual income level who have ongoing disputes with the IRS. Under the current guidelines, taxpayers who earn less than $21,000 per year (for single taxpayers) to $52,000 per year (for a family of five) can receive free representation.
“By assisting low-income clients with their IRS problems,” Schumacher said, “we are able to help people who would otherwise be unrepresented. At the same time, students get invaluable experience working with real clients who have real issues.”
The clinic serves only people already engaged in a dispute with the IRS. It does not help prepare or give advice for preparing tax returns, Schumacher said, and confines itself to federal tax matters, not local or state.
For its dozen law students, the clinic begins with a one-quarter seminar on federal taxation and IRS practice and procedure, followed by two quarters of client practice. The students, under faculty supervision, represent clients before the IRS in examination, administrative appeals and collection proceedings and in proceedings before the U.S. Tax Court. They also engage in client counseling, research, negotiation, as well as written and oral advocacy.
“The Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic is one of the most practical experiences a student can get,” Schumacher said. “In addition to learning practice skills through case-work, students develop empathy for their clients — something you can’t learn in a classroom. You quickly realize how important a given situation is to a client and the impact our work has.”
Schumacher was a tax controversy and litigation attorney with Chicoine & Hallett in Seattle before joining the University two years ago as the clinic director. He also has served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Justice Department Tax Division.
Clients may be referred to the clinic or contact it directly at 206-685-6805. It is located at 4045 Brooklyn Ave. N.E. and is staffed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
