UNL provides tax assistance to international students

You don't have to be an American to complain about U.S. taxes.

Comlanvi Konou is a doctoral student of economics from Togo, and when he saw how much he was getting back on his tax return this year compared to last year, he said, "That's not enough."

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln International Affairs office is hosting Volunteer Income Tax Assistance programs every Tuesday until April 13. The programs, held in the Nebraska Union between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m., let international students have someone double check their tax return before the April 15 deadline. Since the events started on March 2, more than 500 University of Nebraska-Lincoln international students and several foreign Lincoln residents have already taken advantage of the tax preparation help.

"There are taxes pretty much everywhere," said Stephen Mattos, an international affairs adviser at UNL. "But taxes are done differently everywhere."

Most of the students who have gone through the program so far fill out the tax return at the site. Then volunteers, who range from UNL students to IRS agents, check the tax forms and make sure everything is in order.

There are a host of rules an international student has to follow when paying taxes. A person's immigration status can change what taxes must be paid, and so does how long the student has lived here. Treaties between the U.S. and foreign countries determine how much and at what level wages or scholarships are taxed — and those treaties vary from country to country. For example, a student or teacher from Canada doesn't have to pay taxes on the first $10,000 of income, but if the income exceeds $10,000, all of it is taxed.

Togo has no such treaty, so Konou has to pay taxes on all his income. He said Togo taxes are not nearly as much as the taxes here.

"Paying taxes is not that bad as long as you use it for public services," Konou said. "I can't say (U.S. taxes) are a bad thing."

Foreigners can also get puzzled by the language on the forms.

"You can tell the forms are written by tax people and not immigration people," Mattos said.

Konou spoke French and a bit of English before he moved to the U.S. in 2006 for graduate school. He said he's glad the university is offering some tax assistance.

"I'm not sure if I could make it through (the form) on my own," he said. "I don't want to make a mistake."

The tax help students receive on campus is only for federal taxes. In previous years, the Nebraska Department of Revenue sent people to assist international students with state taxes, but no one was sent this year. Instead, the department sent maps to its office where state tax return assistance is offered.

Yueying Zhang, a senior biological systems engineering major from Beijing said she doesn't have problems paying bills in America and has kept a good credit history, but she still likes to get help.

"I think I could (pay my taxes) on my own," she said. "But it's good to have someone double check."

RYANBOETEL@
DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM