Free tax clinics in Windsor offer help to newcomers and people with low incomes

As the tax deadline looms, many organizations and associations across Windsor and Essex County are offering help to anyone looking to file. 

Emmanuel Tchoukou says it's an opportunity to educate people on how to handout their claims. 

Tchoukou is part of the executive management of Diamond Multicultural Economic Cooperative Inc. in Windsor. They have been offering free tax clinics since 2020 with a focus on the multicultural community.

"Some terminologies they're not used to, we have to take time to explain," said Tchoukou. "Some of them [newcomers] come with little supporting documents because they did not maintain their records properly during the year."

"We started roughly with 100 taxes for low-income earners," he told CBC News. "And we are moving towards 200 now." 

Cultural associations are also offering free tax clinics, including the Bhutanese Canadian Association (BCA) of Windsor and Essex County. 

The association features members of Windsor's Nepali community and aims to help newcomers who may not speak English or who are trying to get accustomed to life in the city. 

Krish Adhikari is a member of the association leading the clinics. He says it's an opportunity to give back to the community and that he was once in their position. 

"Our family came to Canada in 2010, so when we landed in Quebec … they were offering the same kind of clinic and it was easier for us to go and get help because we didn't have good English or French at that time," said Adhikari. 

BCA says it filed 125 tax claims last year and is on track to do more in 2023 — offering services in both English and Nepali. 

People also have an option to go to the Unemployed Help Centre of Windsor-Essex for tax assistance. The centre helps low-income earners, who have access to their food bank services, file their taxes. 

"At this time, people can't afford to pay their rent, buy groceries, pay hydro and then of course have a tax bill," says June Muir, the centre's chief executive officer. 

With the increase in food bank users, Muir has also seen an increase in the amount of people using their free tax clinics. 

"There are lots of benefits that they're able to tap into once they fill out their income tax, which they don't even really recognize until it's time," said Muir.

"It's a great system and it helps educate the individuals about our tax system and how it works. It also helps them with money management. It helps them know what tax benefits are available to them." 

All tax clinics across Windsor-Essex are expected to ramp up their hours heading into the deadline of May 1, 2023.