News Round Up: March 1, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting low-income communities and exacerbating economic inequality across the country. Throughout this crisis, TCWF will compile news, legislation, and research on how tax credits and other income-boosting policies can provide much-needed relief for the hardest-hit communities.
Top Story: The Maryland state General Assembly passed legislation to expand the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to filers using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). This comes after the ITIN expansion was originally removed from the recent COVID-19 relief package, which included a larger EITC expansion, and was introduced as separate legislation. The legislation also creates a state Child Tax Credit (CTC) for families earning $6,000 or less with a child with disabilities. Governor Larry Hogan (R) has indicated that he will let the bill become law without his signature. (The Washington Post)
- California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a COVID-19 relief package that includes direct $600 payments to households claiming the state EITC in 2020 and to state ITIN filers who were unable to receive federal stimulus checks. (Office of Governor Gavin Newsom)
- A recent report from the Center for American Progress analyzed the benefits of increasing the CTC and making it fully refundable, two expansions included in President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, and found that the historic measures would reduce child poverty by 45%. (Center for American Progress)
- A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) examined the ways using poverty-reducing interventions to support family incomes now, such as increasing the value of the CTC, will lead to better outcomes for children in the short- and long-term. (CBPP)
- A new CBPP blog post explored how expansions to the EITC, particularly those that expand the credit to workers without dependent children, would benefit approximately 193,000 American Indians and Alaska natives across the U.S. (CBPP)