News Round-up: April 24, 2017

Here are some highlights from the past week’s news and upcoming events on family tax credit issues.
  • David Harris, president of the Children’s Research and Education Institute, and H. Luke Shaefer, director of Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, urged lawmakers and advocates to support changing the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to a universal credit, which would give $1,000 per child to every American family, regardless of their income (The American Prospect).
  • Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced a bill that would increase EITC refunds for families raising up to seven children. Currently, the credit caps the number of eligible children at three, and families with three or more children receive the same sized benefit (Israel National News).
  • In Montana, the Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. Steve Bullock (D) continued to negotiate tax reform bills, including a measure that would create a state EITC (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, KXLH).
  • Nebraska Pete Ricketts (R) continued to push for his tax reform package, which includes a provision to increase the state’s EITC from 10 to 12 percent of the federal credit (US News & World Report, Bradenton Herald).
  • The California Budget and Policy Center released a report outlining why the state needs to do more to raise awareness about the EITC (Orange-County Breeze).
  • To celebrate tax day, CityLab published a history of the EITC and why it’s the most successful antipoverty program (CityLab).