News Round Up: June 30, 2021
Top Story: The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) released its 2021 Kids Count Data Book, which analyzes the health and wellbeing of children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommends making the American Rescue Plan’s temporary expansions to the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) permanent. (AECF)
- Last Monday, June 21, was CTC Awareness Day. President Joe Biden said in a statement: “Nearly every working family with children is going to feel this tax cut make a difference in their lives, and we need to spread the word so that all eligible families get the full credit.” Visit gov to learn more about the administration’s efforts to raise awareness of the CTC. (The White House)
- A new blog post from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reviewed the states that enacted, expanded, or funded a state-level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in 2021 legislative sessions. (ITEP)
- A new report from the Center for American Progress examined how the Biden administration’s proposed American Families Plan, which includes expansions to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and CTC, could support LGBTQ+ families, who experience higher rates of poverty than other households. (Center for American Progress)
- Colorado Jared Polis signed into law a bill that expands the state EITC from 15 to 20% of the federal credit and funds a state-level CTC worth $600 per child. (The Gazette)
- Esteban Leonardo Santis, policy analyst at the Florida Policy Institute, posited that the money spent on state sales tax holidays could be better used to reform the state’s upside-down tax system by investing in a state-level EITC. (Tampa Bay Times)
- New Jersey legislators and Gov. Phil Murphy reached an agreement on a Fiscal Year 2022 budget that will expand the age of eligibility for the state’s EITC from 21 to 18 and to those over age 65, expand the state’s CDCTC to families making up to $150,000, and make the credit refundable. (gov)
- Oregon lawmakers passed legislation to expand the state EITC to taxpayers with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), who are typically working non-citizen parents of U.S. citizen children. (The Oregonian)