News Round-Up: March 11, 2019
Here are some highlights from the past week’s news and upcoming events on family tax credit issues:
Top Story: U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced “The American Family Act of 2019,” which would drastically expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and allow eligible filers to claim portions of the credit monthly, rather than as a lump sum at tax time. The plan would lift approximately 4 million children out of poverty, according to Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy. (Vox)
- The Hawaii State Legislature advanced two bills to increase the state Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC). (Hawaii House Bill 1193; Senate Bill 1014)
- To counter a proposal to increase the state minimum wage to $15 by 2025, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) proposed expanding the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 50 to 60 percent of the federal credit and increasing the minimum wage to $12.10 by 2022. (Maryland Matters)
- Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) proposed a state budget that includes an expansion of the state’s EITC from 6 to 12 percent of the federal credit to offset a proposed hike to the state gas tax. (WNEM News; ITEP)
- The North Carolina State General Assembly is considering two bills to reinstate the state’s EITC, which was eliminated in 2013. The bills, which would enact a state-level EITC worth 5 percent of the federal credit, are pending in the Senate and House Committees on Rules and Operations. (North Carolina General Assembly House Bill 238; Senate Bill 50)
- Oregon State Representative Sherrie Sprenger (R-Scio) introduced legislation to enact a state CTC worth $250 per dependent child. (Oregon State Legislature)
- We blogged about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s new report that recommends expanding the EITC and CDCTC as part of four different policy packages aimed to reduce child poverty. (TCWF)