By Leah Szarek
Carrboro Commons Writer

A confusing stack of forms laced with nonsensical terms like W1040EZ descends on mailboxes across the country each year. The tricky federal and state income tax paperwork can be enough to send even native citizens running to professional tax preparers and computer software. For recent immigrants with the added barrier of language, the race to April 15 can seem even more daunting.

Lady Liberty and Keith Crossland greet clients at the Liberty Tax Service office on Jones Ferry Road. Crossland, a veteran tax preparer, works with several bilingual colleagues to help local Spanish-speakers file their taxes.
Staff photo by Leah Szarek

The demand for bilingual tax help is particularly high among the burgeoning Latino population in Carrboro. Augusto Pasco, 21, commutes from Raleigh each weekday to operate the Latin American Tax desk in the offices of El Centro Latino on West Main Street. The New Jersey transplant said the Raleigh-based firm needed him in the field almost immediately after they hired him a year ago.

“Most people train for at least a week,” Pasco said. “I had two days, Saturday and Sunday, and then I was working with clients on Monday. The need was that great.”

Pasco said he has served more than 100 local clients since January. Many of his clients are noncitizens who are not eligible for social security numbers. These clients must file for tax identification numbers, which are provided to foreign-born residents regardless of legal status. Pasco said filers must present some form of photo identification issued by the United States or their home country. He said the process takes about a month.

These numbers are not shared with immigration authorities or used to identify people who may have entered the country illegally. But Nanette Efird, owner of Liberty Tax Service franchises in Cary and on Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro, said many potential filers remain hesitant to take advantage of this option.

“I think there is a lot of fear,” she said. “We have to work to build trust.”

Efird opened her Cary store a year ago as her first foray into the tax business. She was surprised by the number of Spanish-speaking clients seeking tax help.

Augusto Pasco mans the tax help desk at El Centro Latino. He said he has helped more than 100 area Latinos prepare their taxes this year.
Staff photo by Leah Szarek

“The lesson learned from last year was that you have to be able to communicate,” she said. “That’s the bottom line.”

According to Efird, about half of her staff are native Spanish-speakers. A former human resources officer in the hotel industry, Efird said she worked with many Latinos in the past and is committed to serving this community.

“I developed a love for the culture,” she said. “It angered me and it still does to see other people take advantage of this community.”

Efird chose Carrboro as the site of her second Liberty Tax Service branch because of the high concentration of Latinos.

“We developed processes and expertise in this area,” she said. “Legally and culturally, we have the resources to really help.”

She devotes a substantial portion of her marketing efforts to the Spanish-speaking population.

“We try to find places where these folks hang out, where they go for trusted information,” she said, describing her marketing strategy of leaving Spanish-language literature in the businesses and apartment complexes that cater to Latinos.

Keith Crossland, a veteran tax preparer who works out of Efird’s Carrboro office, said his Spanish-speaking colleagues can help Latino immigrants file taxes going back three years. Crossland said immigrants may reap long-term benefits from this service if future immigration reform legislation makes tax paying a step on the path to citizenship.

“Certainly it can’t hurt to have a record of living here and paying taxes,” Crossland said.

Filers have until April 15 to postmark their paperwork, and both Pasco and Crossland said they anticipate a rush in the final two weeks leading up to the deadline.