News Round-Up: February 25, 2019
Here are some highlights from the past week’s news and upcoming events on family tax credit issues:
Top Story: The Georgia Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on SB 41, a bill to enact a refundable state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) worth 10 percent of the federal credit, and Georgia Representative John Carson (R-Marietta) introduced separate legislation to enact a nonrefundable state-level EITC worth three percent of up to $3,000 in earned income.
- Michigan State Senator Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) introduced legislation to increase the state EITC from six to 30 percent of the federal credit. (Michigan Advance)
- The Washington State Senate Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing on SB 5810, a bill to fund a state-level EITC — called the Working Families Tax Credit — which would provide a sales tax credit worth $350 on average for low-income workers across the state. (Public News Service, Washington State Budget & Policy Center)
- Seth DiStefano, policy outreach director at the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, urged state lawmakers to prioritize tax cuts for low-income West Virginians by enacting a refundable state EITC and repealing the state tax on Social Security only for low-income retirees, not millionaires. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
- Janet Bauer, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy, urged Oregon lawmakers to increase the state’s EITC from eight to 20 percent of the federal credit to improve educational outcomes and boost income for working families across the state. (The Portland Tribune)
- Trust for America’s Health released a new report that recommends states adopt policies outside of the healthcare sector to improve health outcomes, including enacting or expanding refundable state EITCs. (Trust for America’s Health)