Weekly News Round-up: January 11, 2016
Here are some highlights from the past week’s news on family tax credit issues. Remember – you also can track news coverage throughout the week by visiting our website, where you can filter news by a specific credit and/or state.
- This weekend, the Kemp Forum on Expanding Opportunity brought together six Republican presidential candidates to discuss ways to reduce poverty, with several voicing support for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) (ABC News, Wall Street Journal). At the forum, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pitched his tax reform plan, which includes doubling the EITC (Jeb 2016, Forbes). New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie touted the recent expansion of his state’s EITC (Asbury Park Press). Ben Carson, on the other hand, announced his strong opposition to such tax credits (The Hill). Look for commentary on the forum from Tax Credits for Working Families later this week.
- Carson released his tax plan, which would institute a 15 percent flat tax for businesses and individuals and eliminate all deductions and credits, including the EITC. (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Politico, Mother Jones, Wall Street Journal).
- Less than a year after California created an EITC, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) proposed expanding the credit in his 2016 budget proposal (San Francisco Gate).
- Angela Rachidi, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), wrote that lawmakers should hold off on expanding the EITC to childless workers until more pilot programs are conducted (AEI).