- A Connecticut teacher raised more than $ 41,000 last year to help families.
- Louis Goffinet now receives $ 16,000 in income tax on the money raised through Facebook fundraisers.
- The money was given to help families with rent, groceries and cash.
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A Connecticut teacher raised more than $ 41,000 to help neighbors in need during the pandemic, but now stands at more than $ 16,000 in income taxes.
Louis Goffinet, an 8-year-old teacher in Manchester, Connecticut, started Facebook fundraisers to help his neighbors in April 2020. His two fundraisers ‘Neighbors Grocery Relief’ and ‘Neighbors Holiday Relief’ raised $ by the end of the year. 41,134.16 earned to help people with groceries, and cash and rent assistance, he said in a Facebook entry.
Goffinet told WVIT the funds helped fund 140 families with groceries, 125 family meals, 80 Thanksgiving pies and 31 Thanksgiving funds. It also helped five families with rental assistance and helped 20 people buy holiday gifts for their children.
The money raised was declared a personal income in 1099, and Goffinet said he said the funds did not adequately qualify it as deductions, but rather as gifts. ‘
He said the impact it had on his personal
taxation
is $ 16,103, which is “more than I can reasonably afford to pay alone.”
“It was a bit gut-wrenching. As a teacher, I think a lot of people understand, our salary is not as high as other jobs,” Goffinet told WVIT. ‘So, for me, $ 16,000 is significant. It’s a big part of my annual income. ‘
Goffinet told Insider he was hired by a certified public accountant and tax attorney who will investigate how the tax burden can be reduced or removed.