By Christine Roy
When it comes to tax season, filing the paperwork needed in order to be on Revenue Canada’s good side can be daunting for even the most seasoned of students.
For international students away from home and needing to include even more paperwork, it can be a nightmare.
The Algonquin Students’ Association (SA) began offering tax services by appointment on Feb. 27. The students who make use of this service are most often international students, said Stafford Rollocks, the controller of the SA.
At the beginning, the SA only offers 30-minute appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays but the openings fill up quickly.
“Generally, we like to open another tax day to meet demands,” Rollocks said.
This tax service has a long history within Algonquin. “It’s a long-time service that started back in the early 80’s,” Rollocks said.
The service is for students and non-students. In order to allow consistency with their tax records, Algonquin charges non-students $60 if they want to continue to have their taxes done through the college.
Enrolled students are charged $30 but there is also a $10 deposit fee required when booking the appointment.
The tax services are not available for self-employed individuals. Quebec tax returns are also not eligible for the tax service, as it would require an additional software program.