The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, or VITA, offers free tax help for low- and middle-income taxpayers at the following locations near you:

• Bethpage Federal Credit Union (Bay Shore)
  591 East Main Street, Bay Shore, NY 11706
  Every Wednesday, 5 p.m.– 7p.m. and
  every Saturday, 3 p.m.- 6 p.m. until April 15

• Brentwood Public Library
  34 2nd Avenue, Brentwood, NY 11717
  (631) 273-7883
  Every Saturday, 1 p.m.– 4:30 p.m. until April 11

• Central Islip Public Library
  33 Hawthorne Avenue, Central Islip, NY 11722
  (631) 234-9333
  Every Sunday, 2 p.m.– 5 p.m. until April 12

• Bethpage Federal Credit Union (Central Islip)
  233 S. Research Pl., Central Islip, NY 11722
  Every Wednesday, 6 p.m.– 8 p.m. and
  every Saturday, 3 p.m.– 6 p.m. until April 15

• Suffolk County Dept of Labor
  725 Veterans Memorial Hwy., Building 17
  North County Complex, Hauppauge, NY 11788
  (631) 853-6544
  By appointment only
  Monday through Friday until April 15

For more information about VITA, please call 1-800-829-1040 or visit www.otda.state.ny.us/main/reform/vitasites.asp and click on “Suffolk County.”

I know many Islip families are facing tough economic times. That’s why I’m fighting in the Assembly to enact tax relief and protect the quality of health care and education we depend on.

To ensure we continue to invest in our children’s education and provide the quality of health care we need, we must change New York’s tax structure. Right now people making $40,000 a year pay the same state tax rate as those who earn $1 million annually. Asking the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay their fair share will make our tax structure more equitable and help take the burden off working Islip families and seniors.