Weekly News Round-up: March 21, 2016

Here are some highlights from the past week’s news and upcoming events 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 or state.

  • In Maryland, the House of Delegates passed a bill to expand the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The bill, which was supported by both Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Larry Hogan (R), would increase the credit for workers without children and lower the age limit from 25 to 21. The Maryland Senate is considering a similar version of the bill.  However, the Senate bill includes a large tax break for the wealthy and advocates are urging legislators not to support it. (Baltimore Sun, WBAL).
  • Minnesota Mark Dayton (D) introduced his budget plan, which included plans to expand the child and dependent care credit (Minneapolis Star Tribune).
  • Hilary Hoynes and Jesse Rothstein, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, released a paper showing that the EITC is well targeted at low-income workers (Brookings).
  • More lower-income consumers are using their tax refunds, which come largely from the EITC, to save for the future, a new survey shows (Times Free Press)