News Round Up: April 5, 2021

Top Story: Over 150 organizations shared an open letter calling for the federal government to permanently expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) by granting eligibility to all children, issuing the credit in monthly payments, and supporting funding for family outreach to raise awareness. (Children’s Defense Fund)

  • Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families led a live interview with a federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipient who would benefit from a state version of the credit.  (Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families)
  • The United Way of Connecticut’s top leadership urged state lawmakers to enhance the state EITC and create a state CTC, in light of wage stagnation and inequities that hurt the state’s most vulnerable. (CT Mirror)
  • The Louisiana Budget Project (LBP) recently released an analysis of racial inequities in Louisiana’s tax system, providing recommendations for how to best correct racial and ethnic disparities, such as creating a state CTC and permanently expanding the state EITC’s value from 5% to 10% of the federal credit. (LBP)
  • Maryland’s General Assembly recently passed a $54.2 billion budget for the upcoming year, which will mostly cover the cost of direct stimulus payments to low-income residents and expand the state EITC, among other measures aimed at providing long-term financial assistance. (Maryland Matters)
  • North Carolina Policy Watch published a blog evaluating key highlights of the governor’s recent budget proposal, commending the proposed reinstatement of the state EITC that would benefit over 850,000 North Carolina families if enacted. (Progressive Pulse)
  • Washington Democrats recently unveiled their state budget proposal, which includes fully funding the state’s EITC, called the Working Families Tax Credit. The credit has been law for over a decade but has never been funded. (KUOW)