New TCWF Case Studies Offer Strategies for Executing Successful Tax Credit Campaigns
What are some of the most effective tactics for advancing tax credit legislation? Each year, Tax Credits for Workers and Their Families (TCWF) releases a set of case studies on the strategies and messages advocates used in recent campaigns to create, expand, or protect state-level Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs).
2021 was a banner year with states across the country prioritizing working families. This year, we highlighted successful campaigns to expand state EITCs in Connecticut and Oklahoma, enact a new credit in Missouri, as well as three case studies on how states have built momentum around the EITC, prioritized racial equity, and leveraged the EITC as part of state-level COVID-19 responses.
In Connecticut, state advocates increased the state EITC from 23 to 30.5% of the federal credit after a long campaign to restore the value of the credit.
After almost 25 years of advocacy, advocates secured a win for Missouri’s working families by enacting a state-level credit worth 10% of the federal credit.
Similarly, in Oklahoma, advocates were successful after a years-long effort to restore refundability to the state EITC.
As states continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates positioned the EITC as a critical tool for helping hard-hit working families.
As states find new ways to strengthen their EITCs, centering racial and gender equity has been a critical component their campaigns.
And lastly, several states have been able to sustain momentum around their EITCs, leading to legislative wins year after year.
These case studies, along with those from years past, illustrate the elements common to many tax credits campaigns, while highlighting unique and successful strategies that advocates across the country can adapt for their own efforts in 2022 and future years. Use our 50-state map to learn more about these states and state EITCs across the country.