U.S. House Rep. Kristi Noem Visits BHSU Income Tax Class

Business students at Black Hills State University met with U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem on campus in Spearfish recently to discuss tax policy and Noem's role on the House Ways and Means Committee. All students are professional accountancy majors unless otherwise noted, left to right front row: Karen Robinson from Sundance, Wyo. Dylan Hanson from Grenville. Back row: Sam Smith from Keystone Debbie Borden from Moorcroft, Wyo. Tammi Martin from Spearfish Robin Meyerink, accounting instructor Rep. Kristi Noem Raven Jorgensen from Keystone Ashley McFarland from Hettinger, N.D. Kendra Finnell from Wright, Wyo. Melinda Sneeden, business administration-accounting major from Spearfish Paul Mitchell from Spearfish and Yoko Nishida, business administration-accounting major from Japan.

Rep. Kristi Noem shared her experiences with the Income Tax Accounting class at Black Hills State University in Spearfish recently.

Noem is the first South Dakotan to serve on the House Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee. The BHSU tax class includes a study of the foundations of the Internal Revenue Code so the students were eager to discuss the House Ways and Means Committee with Noem.

Robin Meyerink, accounting instructor at BHSU and VITA site coordinator, says the School of Business was honored to have Rep. Kristi Noem on campus and that the visit helps students to better understand the process of writing tax laws. Meyerink also said that Noem's comments about tax reform have spurred many interesting and analytical discussions.

These same tax students will be volunteers in BHSU's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. VITA offers free income tax preparation for low to mid-income taxpayers. Tentatively, VITA is scheduled to begin Monday, Feb. 27. For more information, contact Robin Meyerink, accounting instructor and VITA site coordinator at robin.meyerink@BHSU.edu or call (605) 642-6002.