NORWICH – On Friday afternoon, members of the Earned Income Tax Credit Partnership Committee attended a luncheon at the Chenango County Fairgrounds and discussed their results for the 2006 tax season.

The EITC committee is made up of volunteers from several local businesses and organizations who come together to offer free tax preparation services for those who qualify for the tax credit. The program, which started in 2004, filed only 193 returns in their first year. The number jumped to 305 returns in 2005, and this year, the EITC Partnership Committee filed 503 tax returns.

“That’s a huge jump. We did a tremendous job,” said United Way Executive Director and Chair of the County EITC Partnership Committee Elizabeth Monaco. “We brought $230,323 back to the community in Federal Earned Income Tax Credit alone, and a total of $610,748 in total refunds,” Monaco explained.

Since 2004, the EITC Partnership has increased publicity for the program and increased the number of partnering organizations involved in the program. For the 2006 tax season, organizations involved included the Chenango County United Way, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Opportunities for Chenango, Colgate University, the Internal Revenue Service, the American Association of Retired Persons, GHS Credit Union, NBT Bank, Partners Trust Bank, SUNY Morrisville, Chenango County Department of Social Services and the Chenango County Farm Bureau.