News Round Up: October 5, 2020
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: Last week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed legislation to lower the age of eligibility for the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 25 to 21, a move that will benefit almost 60,000 workers in the state. (TCWF)
- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) analyzed the House of Representatives’ revised COVID-19 relief package, which would make the Child Tax Credit fully refundable, expand the EITC to workers without dependent children, and give eligible Americans another round of federal stimulus checks. (CBPP)
- The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey and found that Black and Latina women were more likely to report income loss, food insecurity, and being behind on rent and mortgage payments during the COVID-19 recession. (NWLC)
- The Washington Post released new data charts highlighting how the COVID-19 economic recession hit low-income communities of color the hardest, making it the most inequitable recession in modern U.S. history. (The Washington Post)