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As tax season concludes, Pine Tree Legal Assistance wants to highlight our commitment to providing our clients with the support and guidance needed to navigate the complexities of the tax system.


Pine Tree Legal Assistance operates a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic that gives eligible taxpayers free legal assistance on federal tax matters. The Clinic serves low-income taxpayers who have disputes with the IRS. We can serve taxpayers who do not already have representation in their income tax disputes and who cannot afford to pay for legal or tax assistance. The clinic works with Maine tax experts to make sure the rights of our clients are protected and that disagreements with the IRS are resolved fairly.


Pine Tree Legal also provides taxpayer education services to Maine residents, especially those whose primary language is not English, to inform them about their rights and responsibilities as taxpayers.


In 2023, Pine Tree's clinic saved Maine taxpayers $214,455 in unnecessary tax debt and obtained $222,750 in tax returns.


Recently, Pine Tree assisted a 42-year old asylum seeker caring for 5 children by herself after the children’s father returned to his country of origin. The client had her tax return amended because her tax preparer miscalculated the child tax credit and earned income tax credit and she was due a refund. The IRS acknowledged receipt of the return, however the client’s refund was not sent. Numerous calls were made to the practitioner priority line and referrals were sent by them to the unit with the return to no avail.


Pine Tree contacted TAS and our client had her refund of

$ 9,416.01 in just a little over a month. 


$222,750

Total amount of dollars refunded in cash to taxpayers in 2023!


As a supporter of Pine Tree Legal Assistance, you play a vital role in ensuring that vulnerable individuals and families receive the assistance and support they need during tax season, regardless of their financial circumstances. Thank your for your support.

How long have you been at Pine Tree and why did you want to work here?


"3 1/2 years. Before Pine Tree, I was a partner at a litigation firm in Augusta where I handled a broad variety of case types including family, criminal, and personal injury matters. I did not find the work I was doing in private practice to be as fulfilling as I hoped. When an opportunity to work at Pine Tree presented itself, I jumped at the chance. I have found the work I do at Pine Tree to be much more rewarding."


What is your most memorable case, or favorite memory from working at Pine Tree?


"A recent memorable case was one I picked up on my first day working in the LITC Unit. I appeared remotely before the U.S. Tax Court at docket call where my soon-to-be client was facing trial over a substitute return filed by the IRS that was very unfavorable to the taxpayer. I was able to take on the case, and over the course of several months I worked with our volunteers to prepare 6 years worth of tax returns for this taxpayer. I was then able to resolve her tax controversy with the IRS under much more favorable terms."


What does justice mean to you?


"Jeff Bezos paying his taxes."


Do you have a hidden talent?


"I can juggle?"


If you could pick one song to play every time you enter a room, what would it be?



"Taxman by the Beatles."

This month we are spotlighting our partners at CA$H Maine! At Pine Tree Legal, we know the importance of collaborating with organizations whose missions are interconnected with ours and support them to ensure they are also strong. We want to introduce you to their great work in our community!

CA$H Maine is a statewide collaboration, comprised of 50 non- and for-profit partners, working together to help empower Maine individuals and families to achieve long-term financial stability.


CA$H Maine offers free tax preparation to qualified filers during tax season and educates families and individuals about programs in their community that can increase their incomereduce debt, and build savings. While CA$H Maine offers tax preparation during tax season, is a year-round resource providing outreach and education.


Check out the CA$H Maine website and learn more about their work and how you can volunteer today!

Host Committee opportunities available now!


Check out the Muskie Fund for Legal Services website for more information!

muskiefund.org

For much of the work that Pine Tree does for our clients, the benefits are hard to assign a dollar value. Benefits like a protection from abuse order, putting a stop to discrimination, or the security in knowing that one is not alone in a complicated legal process, all help our clients, but are challenging if we try to quantify them. That's not the case for Pine Tree's Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic. At the end of 2023, Managing Attorney Erica Veazey calculated the total money saved for clients by attorney Helen Hall, who was retiring after an amazing career, the last 12 years of which she spent handling most of Pine Tree's tax law cases. Over the course of those 12 years, Helen's work eliminated over $3.6 million of tax debt and secured just a little under $2.0 million in refunds for clients. These federal tax savings were all for low-income clients who needed the money to pay their mortgage or rent, feed their families, access medical care, and more. 


Tax month is also a great opportunity to highlight the LITC Unit as an example of something else special about Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Pine Tree's LITC Unit is the only tax law clinic in Maine focused on the needs of low-income taxpayers, and the knowledge Helen developed over the years was immense, and unique. That Caleb was able to transfer from another unit to LITC in time to overlap with Helen, absorb that knowledge, and ensure that our work helping people with tax law issues continues without missing a beat despite the retirement of a long-serving attorney, is a testament to Caleb, Helen and Erica, as well as to the depth and flexibility of Pine Tree's strong statewide team. This year, we are even adding a paralegal position to the unit to help it grow, and our own Juliette Laaka will soon start working on these cases with Caleb. It's an honor to work with such a team and see the type of impact we can have for our clients!




Our clients are why we do what we do,


you are the how.


You are the essential piece of the puzzle that allows our clients the same safety and protections as everyone else, regardless of economic status.


Your support keeps people housed, provides workplace opportunities for low-wage workers, keeps community members protected from abuse, provides a voice to those unheard and breaks down barriers to justice for Maine people experiencing poverty.


On behalf of the entire team at Pine Tree Legal,

we thank you for your support.




The fight for justice continues because of you.


Become a Champion of Justice now!
Make a monthly commitment to justice today!

*Members of the Bar please consider donating to the Campaign for Justice.

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