USU Extension Rural Tax Education Program Wins Award
A rural tax education program hosted by Utah State University Extension was selected to receive the 2011 Western Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Extension Program Award.
Ruby Ward, USU Extension economist, co-chair of the National Farm Income Tax Extension Committee and project lead for RuralTax.org, accepted the award June 30 at the Canadian Agricultural Economics/Western Agricultural Economics Association meeting in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
Rural Tax Education is a joint project of Extension specialists from 15 land-grant universities around the country. The specialists received a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Risk Management Agency to create the website RuralTax.org, which was launched in the fall of 2010. The project goal is to provide farmers, ranchers and other producers with a source for agriculturally related income and self-employment tax information that is current and easy to understand, thus allowing both agricultural producers and Extension educators to better understand the information and incorporate it into their programs.
Ward said as more USDA programs were linked in multiple ways to federal income tax returns, there was an increasing need to have accurate information available for farmers, ranchers and other producers.
“We are pleased that this innovative program is being recognized,” said Charles W. Gay, associate vice president and associate director for USU Extension. “Dr. Ruby Ward is an extraordinary resource for farmers and ranchers in Utah, the intermountain region and the nation. She has provided leadership in the development of a highly recognized annual conference concerned with diversifying agricultural operations, and now an award-winning, Internet-based resource to assist decision making in the complex world of taxation. USU Extension is extremely proud to have her on our team.”
Ward said the information is written in plain language that is accessible to farmers and ranchers, and that rather than just a collection of materials, it is a website that can be continually updated to reflect changes in tax laws. All of the materials on the website were reviewed to determine that it was both technically accurate and understandable by the target audience.
“The committee has a 50-plus year history of working with the Internal Revenue Service to edit Publication 225: The Farmer’s Tax Guide,” she said. “In an era of deep budget cuts, having a resource that combines the expertise from multiple universities helps provide quality education to the public using limited resources.”
The RuralTax.org website includes 20 peer-reviewed fact sheets on such topics as the definition of a farmer, depreciation and hobby loss rules. RuralTax.org also includes a sample federal income tax return with all schedules and accompanying line-by-line explanations for each form and links to other verified information.
Since going live in October 2010, the website has had more than 14,000 unique visitors, and many producers have benefited from the materials generated by the site. Materials have been used in programming in each of the 15 states involved, as well as additional states, and website content was used in nine presentations to address the unique issues faced by Native American audiences.
For further information about the award or the project, contact Ward at ruby.ward@usu.edu.
Related links:
Utah State University Extension
Contact: Ruby Ward, (435) 797-2323, ruby.ward@usu.edu
Writer: Julene Reese, USU Extension writer, 435-797-0810, julene.reese@usu.edu
Ruby Ward (left), USU Extension economist and project lead for RuralTax.org, accepting the 2011 Western Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Extension Program Award in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
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