Personal Representation to Ensure Justice: Jenny Pusch

Jenny Pusch

Jenny Pusch represented a 21-year-old single mother who made less than $10,000 a year. She depended on working family and childcare credits that she could claim on her state taxes in order to make ends meet. However, she received notice from the Minnesota Department of Revenue that the Department had denied her childcare credit. The Department asserted that actual receipts from the childcare providers were “inadequate” documentation of her childcare expenses. The Department’s examiner refused the credit because the client had paid for the expenses using cash instead of a credit card or check. After Jenny was unsuccessful in working with the examiner to explain the validity of cash payments and paper receipts, she contacted the Minnesota Taxpayer Advocate. The Taxpayer Advocate was equally frustrated by the examiner’s unwillingness to accept the evidence. After Jenny explained the situation and laid out the case, the Advocate was able to help reverse the denial and provide the client with her much needed and rightful credit.