You are never too old to do taxes.
At least that's what wheelchair-bound Rita Elder, who is 93 years young, says as she volunteers at the Royal Canadian Legion boardroom on Tuesdays to help other seniors with their income tax returns by hand for no charge.
“I've been doing this for 43 years now,” said Elder as she was filling out a general tax return by hand and punching numbers into an adding machine. “Some people here do taxes differently than me. One person does them on the computer and then sends it through the air (Internet). The other lady does it on the computer and prints them out.”
Elder added she used a computer for three years to do income tax returns but found it was too heavy for her to carry, and the paper was too expensive.
“I returned to doing them manually,” said Elder. “It is much more personal and we get a chance to talk as I do their returns.”
Well before her current life in Innisfail, Elder led an interesting life. She was recruited Sept. 1, 1939 by the British Army to serve in the Welsh regiment in administration. She moved to the Missing in Action list, then to the Killed in Action department.
“Back then, I had very good handwriting and every family who lost a son or father received a handwritten note,” said Elder. “It was a challenging position. Later, I worked with prisoners of war and helped move them to their countries and camps.”
She arrived in Canada on June 6, 1945 with her Canadian husband who joined the RCMP, and moved to Vernon. She later moved to Alberta.
Moving from place to place, she was working in Wetaskiwin when the Progressive Conservative government shut down the tax offices in 1984 and she started to volunteer to do tax returns. She moved to Red Deer, and continued her volunteering. In 2000, she moved to Sunset Manor in Innisfail.
“In 2000, I got a letter from Revenue Canada who had received a request from a blind woman to have her taxes done,” said Elder. “I contacted her and I haven't stopped since then.”
By her reckoning, she has done nearly 10,000 returns in her lifetime.
“One year I did 400, and there were nights when I would do them all day and take some home at night to finish up,” said Elder.
Alberta Reberger, a friend of the senior tax return whiz, is amazed by Elder's dedication to help others.
“I don't know how she does it,” said Reberger. “I tried but it all got muddled up. All I can do is to help her and drive her home. She has a heart as big as they come.”
Elder smiles and laughs as her friends come to visit as she does their taxes.
“She's got a good mind,” said Reberger. “She also tells some pretty good stories.”
