2006 Taxpayer Survey

199 taxpayers completed the survey (197 answered question 2 and 198 answered question 7).

On a scale of 1 – 5 (1 = very dissatisfied, 5 = very satisfied), rate the following items:

	ITEM	1	2	3	4	5	2006 Wghtd. Avg.	2005 Wghtd. Avg.	2004 Wghtd. Avg.
1	Amount of time you had to wait.		1.0% 2 people	8.5% 17 people	19.1% 38 people	71.4% 142 people	4.61	4.42	4.56
2	Privacy during your meeting.			7.6% 15 people	18.8% 37 people	73.6% 145 people	4.66	4.60	4.63
3	Ability of the volunteer to provide the assistance needed within the parameters of the VITA program.			.5% 1 person	9.5% 19 people	90.0% 179 people	4.89	4.75	4.79
4	Courtesy of the volunteer who helped you.				3.0% 6 people	97.0% 193 people	4.97	4.91	4.94
5	Once the return was completed, the volunteer explained the entries on the return.				7.5% 15 people	92.5% 184 people	4.92	4.88	N/A (Question not on survey in 2004)
6	Explanation of what you need to do next.				8.0% 16 people	92.0% 183 people	4.92	4.85	4.78
7	Overall satisfaction with service (considering all items).				7.1% 14 people	92.9% 184 people	4.93	4.84	4.86

The two items that continue to score lower than the others deal with waiting time and privacy. The constraints for both these items are equipment, suitability of space, and number of students. We did attempt to resolve waiting time these past two years by providing four sessions a week for the first two busy weeks, rather than three as we had in the past. However, once again, the program grew over last year (24% in prepared returns, 49% in e-filed returns) and the number of volunteers decreased (11 students this year compared to 12 last year). We have a much smaller senior class this year and this program does demand a great deal of time commitment from the student. We continue to work well within these constraints as our constituents appear to be satisfied overall with our service (100% answering 3 or above and a weighted average score of 4.93 out of 5).

Although waiting time and privacy score lower than the rest, they are not a concern as 99% of the constituents are satisfied (a score of 3 and above). Plus, we have never had anyone complain about the wait or privacy. The students know to visit with the taxpayer in soft voices about their income matters – many of the taxpayers converse amongst themselves during the session and actually have an enjoyable time.

Some taxpayers did not turn the survey over to answer the following questions on the back. Also, on the first two questions, the taxpayer could give more than one answer.

We are quite pleased with the 100% for BOTH “would you use this service again?” and “would you recommend this service to a friend needing tax assistance?” We have never received below 100% for these two items.

Word of mouth was added to the survey for the first time this year; it is the most popular way for people to find out about the program. Otherwise, it’s previous use of the site and the newspaper. Some of the other ways in which people found out about the program that they wrote on the survey were: college website, work at Monmouth College, business instructor, and bank sign(?).

The rest of the survey provides interesting information. The majority of our constituents earn less than $32,000, and those folks are the ones we are trying to target. Although last year, the majority of the taxpayers were age 40 and over, this year the 39 and under had more numbers – although it’s pretty evenly divided. We serve all ages, and do not turn anyone away as long as their income matters are within the parameters of the program.

	Return Preparation	Electronic Filing	Tax Advice	Other
Why did you visit this site?	105 hits	120 hits	14 hits	6 hits
	IRS	Previous use of this site	Poster	Newspaper	TV/Radio	Word of mouth	Other
How did you find out about this site?	5 hits	60 hits	13 hits	44 hits	19 hits	71 hits	7 hits
	Yourself	Paid tax professional	Friend or relative	Other	Not applicable
If we had not helped you today, who would have prepared your return?	30% 51 people	45% 76 people	22% 38 people	1% 1 person	2% 3 people
	YES	NO
Would you use this service again?	100% 180 people
	YES	NO
Would you recommend this service to a friend needing tax assistance?	100% 180 people
	Under 25	25 – 39	40-59	60-65	Over 65
What is your age?	35% 64 people	17% 31 people	32% 57 people	4% 7 people	12% 21 people
	Less than $32,000	$32,000 or more
What is your household income?	66% 113 people	34% 57 people