Helping people file their taxes is a very impactful poverty reduction action at the community-level. Tax credits and benefits can put lump sum, annual, quarterly, and monthly income into the hands of people living on low-income, and help lift them above or closer to the poverty line.
Now, due to COVID-19, tax filing takes on an even more important role in poverty reduction by lifting newly vulnerable people out of poverty or supporting those at-risk. This case study explores how the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Community Volunteer Income Tax Program is an important strategy for reducing poverty in Leeds and Grenville.