News Round-up: October 17, 2016
Here are some highlights from the past week’s news and upcoming events on family tax credit issues.
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) signed a transportation funding bill that expands the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 30 to 35 percent of the federal credit to help mitigate the impact of an increased gas tax on low-wage workers in the state. Christie’s decision to sign the legislation followed months of negotiations with the Democratic-controlled state legislature (NJ Herald, NJ.com).
- We wrote about the potential impact of Hillary Clinton’s plan to expand the Child Tax Credit on the lowest-income families (TCWF).
- Lawmakers in Arkansas began discussions to create a state EITC. Since the state has passed tax cuts for upper- and middle-income earners over the past few years, Rep. Joe Jett, the chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, said an EITC would help working families make ends meet and create a more equitable tax code (White Hall Journal).
- Debbie Baskin, a RESULTS volunteer and board vice chair of Voices for Utah Children, wrote an op-ed encouraging lawmakers to support the creation of a Utah EITC (Deseret News).