New Campaign Seeks to Flip “Upside Down” Tax Programs
By Kate Skochdopole
Yesterday, the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) kicked off a new campaign to educate Americans on the role “upside down” tax policies play in perpetuating wealth inequality. The Turn it Right Side Up Campaign also seeks to draw attention to wealth and poverty issues during the 2016 presidential campaign.
CFED kicked off the campaign with the release of an animated video illustrating how unfair tax programs drive billions of dollars into the pockets of wealthy Americans each year but give little to lower-income working families.
Key components of a “right-side up” tax system include tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), which reduce income taxes on lower-income families, helping them pay for basic living expenses. These programs, which have bipartisan support, are proven to reduce poverty and encourage work, but are scheduled to face major cuts if Congress allows certain provisions to expire in 2017. Failing to protect the EITC and CTC at their current size could result in a tax hike for some 50 million lower-income Americans. And raising taxes on these workers and their families would only make the system more “upside down.”
For more information about CFED’s campaign, you can visit www.turnitrightsideup.org.