卡洛琳·S·贝特，来自纽约，在2018年秋季入读耶鲁大学。

每一年，美国《纽约时报》都会向学生们征集他们所写的大学申请作文，不少作品充满情感领悟、洞察能力和全然的古怪脱颖而出。谁能想到一个高中生会帮人报税，并且在大学申请文书里写这么貌似乏味的事情——或是她通过这一件事，能对世界有了这么多的了解？

“Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

“可称为确定之事，唯有死亡和纳税。”

Not only do Benjamin Franklin’s words still resonate today, but, if you are like most, filing income taxes is simply unpleasant. For me, however, preparing taxes has been a telescopic lens with which to observe the disparate economic realities present in our society. In looking through this lens, I have seen firsthand how low wages and, at times, regressive public policy can adversely impact the financially fragile, and how I can make a difference.

本杰明·富兰克林的这句话到今天依然能够引起共鸣，如果你和大多数人一样，也会觉得申报所得税的确令人不快。不过，对我来说，报税准备工作是观察社会当中不同的经济现实的望远镜。透过这个镜头，我亲眼见识到，有时微薄的工资和倒退的公共政策会对经济弱势者带来什么不利影响，以及我如何才能做出改变。

This coming year will be my third volunteering every Saturday during tax season with AARP’s Tax-Aide Program. In the basement of the Morningside Heights Library in Manhattan, we help the elderly and low-income individuals file their taxes. During my first season, I handled organizational tasks and assisted intake counselors with the initial interview process.

在报税季，我每个周六都跟随AARP报税援助项目进行志愿工作，接下来的这一年将是第三次了。在曼哈顿“晨边高地”图书馆的地下室里，我们帮助老年人和低收入者报税。在我第一次加入的报税季里，我负责处理组织任务，在初始面试过程中协助招募顾问。

When I told the AARP manager that I wanted to return the following season and do actual tax preparation, she was skeptical, especially since the next youngest tax preparer at my location was 37. That, however, did not deter me: Though I would be just 16 before the start of the season, I diligently studied the material and passed the advanced I.R.S. qualification test.

我告诉AARP的经理我想在下一个季度回来，并做些实际的税务准备工作时，她表示怀疑，尤其是因为在我的所在地，第二年轻的报税人员也有37岁。但是，这并没有把我吓住：尽管我在税务季节开始时刚满16岁，但我钻研过这些材料，也通过了美国国税局的高级资格考试。

As a volunteer, my goal is to help my clients obtain every credit they are entitled to and place vitally needed money in their pockets. To do this, I need much more than just technical knowledge. It is also essential to connect on a human level. I make it a point to put each person at ease by actively listening to his or her story.

作为志愿者，我的目标是帮助客户得到他们应得的每一笔抵免，将亟需的资金放回他们的口袋。要做到这一点，我需要的不仅仅是专业知识，还得在人与人的层面进行沟通。我会积极地倾听他或她的故事，注意使每个人都感到放松。

For example, the young woman, who is a recently minted United States citizen and barely speaks English, mentions that her disabled grandmother lives with her. Her story allows me to determine she can claim a dependent care credit for her grandmother and a $1,000 earned income credit. These credits represent approximately 20 percent of her income and will go toward buying her grandmother’s medications and other necessities.

比如那位几乎不会说英语、刚刚成为美国公民的年轻女子，她提到自己与残疾的祖母同住。从她的故事中我可以确定，她可以因为她的祖母而申请“受抚养者看护税抵”和一千美元的劳动所得抵免。这些抵免占到她收入的20%左右，并将用来为她的祖母购买药品和其它必需品。

I am saddened at times by the palpable stress of those living on the edge of economic subsistence. Basic necessities such as sneakers and dental care, which I had never thought twice about, are out of reach for many. I vividly remember the single mom from Queens who works at Target and spent $400 (a week’s paycheck) at H&R Block last year. By not having to pay for tax preparation this year and the credits she can claim, she confided she will be able to buy her son, who is my age, new shoes for track and hopefully see a dentist for a tooth that has been throbbing for months.

有时，经济状况处于维生边缘的人们所受到的压力是那样明显，令我感到悲伤。比如球鞋和牙科护理这样我从未多花心思的基本需求，对很多人而言都遥不可及。我清楚地记得，那位来自皇后区，在塔吉特工作的单亲妈妈去年在H&R Block报税公司花掉了400美元（相当于她一周的薪水）。有了我们的志愿工作，今年她不需要再为报税准备付款，还可以申请抵免。她向我表示，她可以为和我同龄的儿子买一双新跑鞋了，而且还有希望去牙医那儿看看抽痛了几个月的一颗牙。

As a volunteer, I have learned the importance of empathizing, listening and communicating complex and technical matters simply. Making my clients feel at ease allows them to understand my explanation of how their money is being taxed. I have also gained insight into how tax policy affects the financial and physical health of the working poor and elderly. While I have not changed the tax system (though someday I plan to), I have changed how my clients interact with it.

作为志愿者，我学会共情、倾听，以及通过简单的方式沟通复杂专业问题的重要性。让我的客户放松，他们就能理解我对他们的钱应当如何缴税的解释。我也深入了解了税收政策会对低收入劳动者和老年人的经济状况与身体健康产生怎样的影响。我并没有改变税收体制（我以后有这个打算），但是我改变了客户与体制的沟通方式。

Beyond Benjamin Franklin’s two certainties in life of death and taxes, I would add a third: the enduring power of the human spirit. I remember an octogenarian man with a cane who waited two hours in line on a bone-chillingly rainy Saturday in February. He is somehow able to survive in Manhattan on $15,000 of Social Security earnings a year. Even though his income is below the filing requirement, together we claim $77 of school tax and rent credits, which translates into two weeks of groceries.

除了本杰明·富兰克林说的，生命中死亡与税收这两样确定的事情之外，我还会加上第三件确定的事，那就是人类精神的持久力量。我记得一位拄着拐杖的八旬老人，在二月下着雨的寒冷周六排了两个小时的队。不知怎地，他能在曼哈顿凭着每年15000美元的社保收入生活下来。尽管他的收入低于报税要求，但我们一起申报了77美元的学区税和租房抵免，这相当于他两个星期的杂货采购费用。

When we finish, he says to me, “See you next year.” It is at that moment I know I have made a tangible difference.

我们完成了工作后，他对我说，“明年见。”这一刻，我知道我已经做出了实实在在的改变。