Weekly News Round-up: September 8, 2015

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.

  • The Center for American Progress (CAP) released a plan to create a High-Quality Child Care Tax Credit, which would expand access to child care to almost 6 million American children (CAPWashington Post, Vox).
  • Presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) outlined his plan to replace the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) with a wage supplement that would give low-income workers a small benefit in each paycheck instead of a lump sum benefit during tax time. Critics argue that the proposal would encourage employers to pay their workers less and eliminate the EITC’s saving incentives (Tampa Bay Times, CNN Money).
  • In a piece for the Center for Rural Affairs, Jon Bailey argued that expanding the EITC to childless workers could reduce income inequality in rural communities (CFRA).
  • The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities compiled charts illustrating the successes of safety net programs (CBPP).
  • Angela Rachidi of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) called on presidential candidates to discuss their plans to reduce the poverty rate (Detroit News).
  • Wesley Tharpe of the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI) noted that this Labor Day may be one of the last in which millions of workers remain eligible for the EITC and Child Tax Credit at their current rates. Key provisions of the credits are scheduled to expire at the end of 2017 if Congress does not act to extend them. (GBPI)