LEWISTON – Questions about the Earned Income Tax Credit will be addressed at a Jan. 3 communitywide informational forum at Lewiston City Hall, 27 Pine St. The 9 a.m. gathering will take place in the building’s first Council Chambers.

The forum will be hosted by the Lewiston-Auburn Tax Credit Awareness Coalition. The coalition said its annual EITC awareness campaign has yielded a total of $3,885,821 in federal/state refunds to area low- to moderate-income workers since 2004. For those filing 2007 tax returns, eligible EITC recipients may receive a tax credit of up to $4,716.

Coalition members tout the slogan “Take the money; you’ve earned it,” and advocate that applying for the federal EITC and becoming more financially literate can serve as a positive step toward prosperity for many. Besides focusing on the EITC, the dangers of predatory lending will be covered.

Speakers will be on hand, including Tess Armstrong of the IRS, to explain EITC eligibility guidelines; Work, Women, & Community’s Laurie McDonnell, speaking about financial literacy opportunities; Key Bank’s Charlie Kennedy, on what predatory lending is and is not; Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Maine’s Jackie Wiegleb, on how to break the debt/predatory lending cycle; and Pine Tree Legal attorney Chet Randall, who will cover indicators of predatory lending, foreclosure prevention and nonloan options for individuals in financial distress. A 14-minute video titled “Avoiding the Money Trap” will also be shown.

People wishing to attend should RSVP to either Coalition Co-Chair Dottie Perham-Whittier at 513-3121, X3205 (TTY/TDD: 513-3007) or via [email protected], or contact Coalition Co-Chair Chris Adler at 795-4040, X329, or via [email protected].

EITC eligibility requirements and free tax preparation sites facilitated by IRS-certified volunteers may be found online at http://www.ci.lewiston.me.us/news/eitc/eitc.htm