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pdfATTACHMENT 1
Telephone Screener
OMB No. 1545-1349
CLEARANCE PENDING
EIC Focus Groups with Taxpayers
Focus Group Recruitment Screener
Hello, may I speak to [Name]? My name is [Name], and I am calling from Westat, a research
firm in the Washington DC area about a research study that we are conducting for the Internal
Revenue Service.
The IRS is interested in finding out the best ways to help people become aware of tax refund
programs. We’re organizing a focus group discussion in your community to learn how the IRS
can do a better job of letting taxpayers know about deductions they might qualify for.
The focus group in your area will be held on XXX at XX p.m. To thank you for being in the
group, we are offering $100 cash for your participation. The focus group should take about an
hour and a half, and dinner will be served.
Your participation is voluntary and will not affect your taxes or your tax status. Identifying
information about you will not be shared with the IRS.
[IF NEEDED: If you like, I can give you an address where you can send comments about the
time and burden for this research study. The address is Internal Revenue Service
Tax Products Coordinating Committee
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP
1111 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20224.]
[IF NEEDED: If you have any questions about the study or need more information, you may
email Mary.J.O'[email protected]].
Would you be willing to participate? Thank you very much. I need to obtain a few pieces of
information from you.
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OMB No. 1545-1349
CLEARANCE PENDING
NAME:
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
CELL PHONE:
EMAIL:
ARE YOU THE PERSON IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD WHO PREPARES THE TAXES, OR BRINGS THE TAXES IN TO
BE PREPARED?
Yes No >> MAY I SPEAK WITH THAT PERSON? [RUN SCREENER AGAIN OR SET APPOINTMENT
FOR CALLBACK]
Name/Appointment time/Best Tel No. ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
DID YOU FILE A TAX RETURN LAST YEAR? (check one):
No >>THANK & TERMINATE
Yes >>ASSIGN to FILER or NON-FILER group according to origination list.
Continue to Q4 if recruiting for bilingual location.
Not sure >>THANK & TERMINATE
IF CALL-IN:
THINKING BACK TO LAST YEAR’S TAX RETURN, DO YOU RECALL WHETHER YOU CLAIMED THE EARNED
INCOME TAX CREDIT, OR EIC? [IF NEEDED; IT MAY BE CLAIMED WITH OR WITHOUT QUALIFYING
CHILDREN.]
YES, CLAIMED THE EIC CREDIT [ASSIGN TO FILER GROUP]
NO, DID NOT CLAIM THE EIC CREDIT [ ASSIGN TO NON-FILER GROUP]
DON’T KNOW OR CAN’T RECALL [ASSIGN TO NON-FILER GROUP]
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OMB No. 1545-1349
CLEARANCE PENDING
IF BILIGUAL LOCATION :
WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO INVITE YOU TO BE IN ONE OF OUR GROUPS. WOULD YOU PREFER A GROUP IN
ENGLISH OR SPANISH?
English
Spanish
DID THIS TAX PREPARER ACCEPT OR DECLINE THE INVITATION TO PARTICPATE IN THE FOCUS GROUP?
(check one)
Accepted
Declined any participation. >>Describe reason he or she declined:
GROUP DATE & TIME: English X, X, 2007 at 7 pm
Spanish X, X, 2007, at 7 pm
EIC Filer [Recruit 14]
EIC Filer [Recruit 14]
English X, X, 2007 at 7 pm
Spanish X, X, 2007, at 7 pm
EIC Non-Filer [Recruit 14]
EIC Non-Filer [Recruit 14]
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ATTACHMENT 2
Discussion Guide
OMB No. 1545-1349
CLEARANCE PENDING
EITC FOCUS GROUPS WITH TAXPAYERS
GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE – ENGLISH
PURPOSE: To obtain feedback from EITC eligible taxpayers about the effectiveness of the EITC “I Take
Credit” marketing campaign. Results from the focus groups are expected to provide a qualitative assessment
of taxpayers’ awareness of EITC, and whether current outreach strategies motivate participation. Participants
represent EITC eligible taxpayers who either have, or have not filed for the tax credit.
LOCATIONS
DATES:
TOPIC:
15 locations pending from
IRS
Spring 2008
Awareness of the EITC and effectiveness of
the “I Take Credit” marketing campaign
[NOTE: Items in blue font denote messages/reminders to the moderator.]
I.
INTRODUCTION (10 minutes)
A. Welcome and Overview
Hello, I’m [moderator’s name], and I’m the moderator for today’s group discussion. Also with
us is my colleague [notetaker’s name]. We work for Westat, a private research firm located in
Rockville, Maryland.
Today we’re going to talk about a tax credit that is available to the public called the Earned
Income Tax Credit (EITC). EITC is a federal income tax credit that enables taxpayers who
meet certain eligibility requirements to pay less federal tax or get a tax refund. Even though
the EITC is available, a lot of taxpayers don’t seem to know about it. The IRS has been trying
to come up with good ways to let people know about the credit.
You were invited to participate in this discussion group because you are all taxpayers. Our
purpose today is to talk about things that you may know or heard have about EITC. We would
also like to get your opinions about some of the different ways that the IRS has been trying to
let the public know about EITC and encourage them to find out if they are eligible to file for it.
The results of our discussion will be used to let the IRS know how aware people are of EITC,
how they are learning about it, and what might be some effective ways to advertise it so more
people can know about.
This is a free flowing discussion, and there are no wrong answers. I am interested in hearing
different points-of-view.
I want to thank each of you for coming today and for fitting this session into your schedule.
TO 8 EITC TAXPAYERS DISCUSSION GUIDE
B.
Disclosures and Ground Rules
1. Facility: Describe mikes, mirrors, observers (IRS, Westat).
2. The session is being audio-taped so I can write an accurate report, not about who said
what, but about what was said. Your contributions to our discussion will be anonymous,
and your names will not appear in the summary report.
3. Your participation in the discussion group is voluntary. Participation in the group will not
affect your tax status. All of the information that you share is protected under the Privacy
Act. Identifying information about you will not be shared with the IRS. This information is
covered on the consent form that we are handing out now. The form lists an address
where you can submit comments about the time and burden you experienced for this
research study and a toll free number you can call if you have any questions about the
study, or need more information. Please sign one copy of the consent form and keep the
other for your records.
4. There are a few things I’d like to go over to help make our discussion more productive:
-- Please speak one at a time. I’m interested in what everyone has to say, so if you have a
comment, please make sure everyone can hear it.
-- I want to hear from everyone, but not every person has to answer every question.
-- I want to hear a range of experiences, so if you have an opinion different from what
most in the group are saying, please don’t hesitate to speak up (there are no right or
wrong answers)
5.
At any time you can excuse yourself to go to the restroom, or to get more food or
beverages. I ask that only one person leaves the room at a time so we can keep the
discussion going.
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TO 8 EITC TAXPAYERS DISCUSSION GUIDE
C.
Participant Introductions and Rapport-building
Please introduce yourself to the group by telling us your first name, and about a place that
you have always wanted to travel to.
II.
A.
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION
AWARENESS OF EITC (15 minutes)
QA1. Who here has ever heard about the Earned Income Tax Credit, or “EITC”, before
today? [SHOW OF HANDS]
QA2a. How did you hear about EITC?
Probe:
Tell me a little bit about what you have heard about it.
QA2b. Have you ever heard someone else talk about EITC?
-
If YES: Tell me a little bit about what you have heard about it.
If No, GO TO QA3
QA3. For those of you who aren’t familiar with EITC, it is a tax credit for eligible taxpayers
who work, but do not earn high incomes. To get the credit taxpayers must make less
than a certain amount of money a year and meet other special requirements (e.g. have
a valid Social Security #). Taxpayers who qualify and claim the credit could pay less
federal tax, pay no tax, or even get a tax refund.
To give you an example of how the credit works, for this upcoming tax season, a
married couple who file their tax return together, have at least two children who lived
with them most of the year, and who made less than $38,348 in 2006 could be eligible
to get a tax credit of up to $4,536 if they file for EITC when they file their tax return.
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TO 8 EITC TAXPAYERS DISCUSSION GUIDE
QA4. What are some reasons that you think a person might want to file for EITC?
QA5. What are reasons that you think someone might not want to file for EITC?
QA6. Where would you go, or who would you go to, if you wanted to find out more
information about EITC?
B.
Probe:
Is this (EITC) something you would expect a professional tax preparer to
know about?
Probe:
How do you think people who do their taxes themselves would find out
about EITC?
Probe :
Who else would you expect to know about what EITC is?
“I Take Credit Marketing” Campaign (45 minutes)
The IRS has designed different kinds of materials to tell people about EITC and to encourage them to
find out if they are eligible to file for it. Some of those materials are in paper form (e.g., brochures,
posters, newspaper ads) and others are designed to be played on the radio.
I’m going to show you a few different examples of those materials and I want to know what you
think about them.
QB1. Does this look/sound like something you have ever seen/heard before?
Probe:
If Yes, where did you see it/hear it?
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TO 8 EITC TAXPAYERS DISCUSSION GUIDE
QB2. I’d like to hear your gut reactions to what we just showed you/played for you.
What did you think of it?
Probe:
Why would you or wouldn’t you NOTICE it?
Probe:
Why would it/or wouldn’t it HOLD YOUR ATTENTION?
Probe:
What do you like about this ad?
Probe :
What don’t you like about it?
QB3. What do you think about the title that is used in this ad to refer to EITC?
Probe:
What comes to mind when you see this title?
Probe:
Does it make you think about EITC?
Probe:
What do you think the title should be to get people thinking about EITC
when they see it/hear it?
QB4. What message(s) do you think the IRS was trying to get across with this ad?
Probe :
What message(s) came across clearly?
Probe :
What things don’t make sense?
Probe:
What things come across that the IRS might not have wanted? (For
example, is there anything that might be offensive, have doublemeanings, etc.?)
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TO 8 EITC TAXPAYERS DISCUSSION GUIDE
QB5. How would seeing this/hearing this affect you wanting to learn more about EITC?
ASK OF PARTICIPANTS WHO SAID THEY’D WANT TO LEARN MORE:
Probe:
Where would you go to learn more about EITC after seeing this/hearing
this?
QB6. Would seeing this/hearing this get you to file for EITC on your next tax return? Why, or
why not?
Probe:
How about other people you know?
QB7. Who do you think would be good spokespersons or narrators to present this ad? That
is who would you want to see telling you and others in your community about this
information?
QB8. Where would you want to be able to get or see this ad?
Probe:
Where else should it be shown/played?
QB9. What would be the best way that the IRS could present this ad for it to be most
effective in your community?
Probe:
What other messages or information should it include?
Probe:
What should be included along with this ad? (e.g., referral info to local
tax clinics; a number to call for more information; etc.)
Now let’s look at another way the IRS is trying to get the word out about EITC.
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TO 8 EITC TAXPAYERS DISCUSSION GUIDE
C.
AWARENESS OF EITC TAXPAYER RESOURCES (10 minutes)
QC1. Now I’d like to show you some things that the IRS has created on their website to let
people know about EITC. How many of you have ever gone to the www.irs.gov
website? [Show of hands]
Part of the irs.gov website includes information specifically about EITC that taxpayers
can use to learn more about it and to find out if they might qualify for it.
QC2. Now I want to show you a tool that the IRS has on its website that taxpayers can use
to help determine if they will qualify for EITC.
QC3. This is called the “EITC Assistant”. Taxpayers can enter information using this tool and
determine if they might qualify for EITC. The EITC Assistant is available in English and
Spanish.
QC4. Do you think this website (EITC Assistant) would be useful to you?
Probe:
If Yes, why?
If No, why not?
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TO 8 EITC TAXPAYERS DISCUSSION GUIDE
III.
WRAP UP AND CLOSING (10 minutes)
I’m going to take a minute to ask our observers in the back if there is anything else they would like
to know from you. Please feel free to get up and stretch, help yourself to more snacks and drinks,
and I’ll be back momentarily.
We’re coming to the end of our discussion. As we wrap things up, is there anything else you think I
should know about what the IRS can do to get the word out to taxpayers about EITC?
Thank you again for your time and comments. What you’ve shared will help us to describe to the
IRS how they can improve the ways that they let taxpayers know about EITC.
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ATTACHMENT 3
Consent Form
OMB No.: 1545-1349
PENDING CLEARANCE
WESTAT
An Employee-Owned Research Corporation
1650 Research Blvd. Rockville, MD 20850-3129 301 251-1500
FAX 301 294- 2040
FOCUS GROUPS WITH TAXPAYERS
Consent for Participation and Session Recording
I,
_______________________________________________________________,
(Print your name here)
consent to the audio recording of this focus group session, which is being conducted by
Westat to help the IRS study ways it can help people become more aware of tax refund
programs.
I acknowledge that my participation in this session is voluntary and that I will receive $100
cash for participating today. I understand that the recordings will be used only by the
research staff to accurately capture the views expressed during the focus group, and that my
name will not appear in the summary report.
I am aware that my participation in this focus group session will have no effect on my
personal tax status, that identifying information about me will not be shared with the IRS, and
that all of the information I share today is protected under the Privacy Act.
____________________________________________________
Participant’s Signature/Date
The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all
public information requests. The OMB Control Number for this study is 1545-1349. Also, if
you have any comments regarding the time estimates associated with this study or
suggestions on making this process simpler, please write to the, Internal Revenue Service,
Tax Products Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20224.
| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Title | Level 2 Plan 1-04-20-053N |
| Subject | Standards for IRS Notices: Language and Layout |
| Author | ecschu74 |
| File Modified | 2007-12-20 |
| File Created | 0000-00-00 |