OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF PRIVACY POLICY
DeafTax.com, a subsidiary of Schwarz Financial Services LLC, is committed to providing
reliable, timely, and accurate income tax returns to its customers. Consistent with
applicable law, DeafTax.com is dedicated to maintaining high standards of confidentiality
with respect to the personal information it collects from its customers.
This Privacy Policy governs personal information collected from our customers for
the purposes of completing and filing income tax returns. It does not cover aggregated
data from which the identity of an individual cannot be determined, or information
that is available from a public source, such as a telephone directory.
This Privacy Policy applies to all DeafTax.com employees, its franchisees and franchises'
contracted employees. Using contractual or other arrangements, DeafTax.com will
ensure that agents, contractors and third party service providers, who may receive
personal information in the course of providing services to DeafTax.com as part
of DeafTax.com's delivery of services, protect the personal information in a manner
consistent with the principles set out in this Privacy Policy.
If a question arises regarding access to your personal information held by DeafTax.com,
or there is a concern about the manner in which DeafTax.com collects, uses, retains
and discloses your personal information as one of DeafTax.com's clients, please
contact: louis@schwarz-financial.com
DEFINITIONS
"Consent" means voluntary agreement with the collection, use, retention and disclosure
of information for the purposes for which DeafTax.com's services have been retained.
Express consent is obtained explicitly, in writing, from the Customer.
"Collection" means any and all information obtained from the Customer for the purpose
of providing the income tax return preparation and filing services of DeafTax.com.
Collection also means any and all information obtained about the Customer from other
third party sources for the purpose of providing income tax return preparation and
filing services.
"Customer" means any individual that has retained DeafTax.com's services. "Disclosure"
means making available Personal Information and business information about the Customer
to third party government agencies or organizations outside of DeafTax.com.
"Organization" means a business, association, partnership, person, or trade union.
"Personal Information" means any information about the Customer, recorded in any
form that is identifiable to that individual either directly or by inference from
the information, but does not include the name, title or address, or other information
relating to the Customer's business or place of employment.
"Transfer" means filing or otherwise transferring Personal Information and business
Information from the DeafTax.com off-site location to the DeafTax.com home office,
from DeafTax.com to the Internal Revenue Service and state tax agencies, through
any outside electronic filing service providers, and to or from any banks in connection
with an application for a Refund Anticipation Loan or other bank product, for the
purposes consented to by the Customer.
"Use" means the tabulation of all information obtained from the Customer and other
third party sources, as well as the preparation and filing of all pertinent and
relevant income tax forms as required by the Internal Revenue Service and state
tax agencies.
COLLECTION, USE & TRANSFER OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Purpose: The purpose for the collection, use and transfer of a Customer's Personal
Information by DeafTax.com, its employees, and contracted employees, is to obtain
all pertinent and necessary information for the preparation and filing of the Customer's
income tax returns as required by the Internal Revenue Service and state tax agencies.
Collection: Personal Information will be collected, to the extent possible, directly
from the Customer. Where Personal Information is not available from the Customer,
but may be obtained from a financial institution, government agency, or other third
party source, Personal Information will be collected from those sources. Personal
Information that is collected by, and about, the Customer is limited to only that
information that is required by the Internal Revenue Service and state tax agencies
for the preparation and filing of the Customer's income tax return.
Use & Transfer: Personal Information that is collected in the preparation of a Customer's
income tax return will be transferred to DeafTax.com home office for final review
prior to transfer to the Internal Revenue Service or state tax agencies. The Personal
Information is not otherwise used or disclosed to any third party organizations
for any reason outside the purpose stipulated above. Any data that is aggregated
for statistical or business monitoring purposes will be rendered anonymous so as
not to be identifiable to the Customer.
CONSENT
When a Customer signs the income tax return, the Customer consents and agrees to
the following:
- DeafTax.com may collect, use, retain, disclose and/or transfer all Personal Information
about the Customer for the purpose set out above;
- The Customer has a right to access or correct data collected by DeafTax.com;
- The Customer accepts the risks that may be associated with electronic transmission
of his or her income tax return;
- DeafTax.com has the right to disclose Personal Information about the Customer in
response to a subpoena, court order or other legal process.
ACCURACY
DeafTax.com endeavors to ensure that any Personal Information provided by its Customers
and in its possession is accurate, current and complete as is necessary for the
purposes for which the Personal Information is used and transferred. Upon notification
by a Customer that the Personal Information collected and used by DeafTax.com requires
correction or updating, DeafTax.com will endeavor to make the necessary corrections
promptly. Personal Information contained in files that have been closed, or from
prior year income tax returns, is not actively updated or maintained.
RETENTION
DeafTax.com retains Personal Information as long as DeafTax.com believes it is required
to retain such information for the purpose of filing completed income tax returns
and having such returns available in the event that such information is required
by the Internal Revenue Service and state tax agencies. After a Customer's income
tax return has been filed, the return and all Personal Information contained therein
are stored at the DeafTax.com site where the return was prepared. The Personal Information
is also stored on the DeafTax.com main database to enable DeafTax.com to respond
to any inquiries by the Internal Revenue Service and state tax agencies, and for
no other purpose.
SECURITY
DeafTax.com endeavors to maintain physical, procedural and technological security
at its offices, home office, and information storage facilities to prevent any loss,
misuse, unauthorized access, inadvertent disclosure or modification of Personal
Information.
DeafTax.com further protects Personal Information by restricting access to Personal
Information to those employees that have authorized access in order for DeafTax.com
to provide its services to its Customers. DeafTax.com has a policy under which employee
misuse of Personal Information is treated as a serious offense for which disciplinary
action may be taken.
Regarding electronic transmission of Personal Information in the form of the Customer's
completed income tax return, there is no method of transmitting or storing data
that is completely secure. Although DeafTax.com uses all available technological
security in the transmission of Customer's income tax returns, all Internet transmissions
are susceptible to possible loss, misrouting, interception and misuse. Before Personal
Information is transferred or disclosed by electronic transmission, consent to such
means of transfer will be sought from the Customer.
ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION
DeafTax.com permits a Customer to access and review the Personal Information it
holds about the Customer upon receipt of a written request.
DeafTax.com reserves the right to refuse access to Personal Information about a
Customer where the information requested:
- Concerns another individual or Customer of DeafTax.com and no consent has been granted
by that Customer for such access;
- May harm or interfere with law enforcement activities and other investigative functions
of a body authorized by statute to perform such functions;
- Is subject to attorney-client or litigation privilege; or
- Does not exist, is not held, or cannot be found by DeafTax.com.
Where Personal Information will not or cannot be disclosed, the Customer making
the request will be provided with reasons for the non-disclosure.
DeafTax.com reserves the right to decline to respond to repetitious or vexatious
requests for access. In determining whether a request is repetitious or vexatious,
it will consider such factors as the purpose for which the Personal Information
was collected and used, the nature of the information being requested by the Customer,
and the frequency with which the Customer repeats the same or similar access request.
To protect against fraudulent requests for access, DeafTax.com will require sufficient
information or proof of identification from the Customer before granting access
or making corrections to the Customer's Personal Information.
Where a request for access to a Customer's Personal Information is granted, DeafTax.com
will endeavor to provide the information in question within a reasonable time and
no later than 60 days following receipt of the written request and confirmation
of the Customer's identity. DeafTax.com may charge a nominal cost to the Customer
making the access request to cover photocopying or mailing costs, if necessary.
Where a Customer requests deletion of Personal Information held by DeafTax.com,
DeafTax.com reserves the right to refuse such a request to the extent that its retention
of Personal Information is required by the Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies
or applicable laws.
Retrieving Your Information
Our Service is available for starting, completing and e-filing your return from
approximately mid-January through mid-October of each tax year. To view your return
information, you may use your User ID and Password to access a free summary report
and/or pay a fee to print, view, and electronically file your actual return. Once
you have paid, you may continue to access, modify and/or print your tax return as
often as needed during this time.
From mid-October through mid-December you can still complete and mail your return
to the appropriate filing authorities E-filing method is unavailable during this
period.
After paying for your return, the financial information used to make your payment
(e.g. credit card number), as well as the record of your payment, will not be retrievable
by you.
AMENDMENT TO DEAFTAX.COM PRIVACY POLICY AND PROCEDURE
This Privacy Policy is in effect as of January 1, 2007. DeafTax.com recognizes that
legal interpretation of current privacy laws and future privacy legislation may
impact its privacy policies and procedures. DeafTax.com will review and revise this
Privacy Policy from time to time, and notification of any revisions will be posted
on DeafTax.com's Web Site, as well as communicated to DeafTax.com's locations. Privacy
Policy changes will apply to the Personal Information collected from the date of
posting of the revised Privacy Policy to DeafTax.com's Web Site.
COMPLAINT PROCESS
How to Contact Us
Should you have other questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please submit
your questions using our Customer Support link or one of the methods below.
Schwarz Financial Services LLC
4405 East-West Highway, Suite 502
Bethesda, MD 20814-4536
Email: louis@schwarz-financial.com,
joshua@schwarz-financial.com
IM Screenname: DeafBowTie, DeafEconomist
Voice Relay: 866.824.4228 or 866.943.9990
Fax: 301.718.0604 or 0605
Any concern or complaint by a Customer about a DeafTax.com location's or employee's
management of the Customer's Personal Information should be directed, in writing,
to the DeafTax.com representative identified above. All complaints received will
be investigated promptly and the Customer will be advised of the results of the
investigation. Where corrective or disciplinary action is indicated by the investigation,
DeafTax.com will undertake to take such corrective and/or disciplinary action promptly.
©2009, Schwarz Financial Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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