Students can file taxes for free

UMSU service aims at making tax-time easier for students

MICHAEL OLSON STAFF

Students at the University of Manitoba now have access to free filing for their taxes.

On Feb. 19, the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) officially opened the revised UMSU Tax Office. The tax office, located at 112 University Centre, provides free tax filing for all students.

Tax filing services are supplied by ufile.ca, Canada’s top online tax preparation website. Through UFile, students who are residents of Canada, have paid tuition fees, and have spent at least a month in school throughout 2006 qualify for free tax filing.

Previously, tax filing services for students at the U of M were provided by Advantax Group, which charged students a flat fee of $30 or more.

Recently, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) approached UFile and asked if they would be interested in providing free tax filing for students.

“Part of the role of CFS is to provide cost-saving services for members,” said Rachel Gotthilf, vice-president (external) of UMSU. “CFS approached UFile and asked if they were interested in providing a discount to students for tax filing, and fortunately they were.”

UMSU had a five-year contract with Advantax which expired on April 20, 2006. As a member of CFS, UMSU decided to follow suit and acquire UFile’s services.

Since its opening, roughly 250 students have visited the UMSU Tax Office.

The Tax Office currently employs four students who were hired prior to reading week. All four students come from the faculty of management’s department of accounting.

UFile is an initiative of Dr Tax Software Inc., which provides software to Canadian accountants and tax specialists.

Free online tax filing is already available for anyone with a family income below $25,000 on ufile.ca.