News Round Up: October 11, 2021

Top Story: A new survey from Washington University in St. Louis’s Social Policy Institute (SPI) found that lower-income American households are more likely than higher-income families to spend the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) on essential expenses and tutors for their children. (SPI)

  • A new commentary from the Niskanen Center advocated for decreasing the “marriage penalty” in legislation to permanently expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which is currently under consideration in Congress. (Niskanen Center)
  • Another Niskanen Center commentary contended that the CTC should not have a work requirement, as is currently under consideration by Congress, noting that research shows that adding a work requirement may not only be unnecessary but may also undermine the goals of its proponents. (Niskanen Center)
  • A new study from researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business highlighted techniques for encouraging eligible taxpayers to claim the EITC and decreasing stigma around accepting government benefits. (Stanford Business)
  • A recent report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) emphasized the power of state-level EITCs, CTCs, and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits (CDCTCs) to narrow racial income and wealth gaps. (ITEP)
  • A recent report from the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) proposed a bipartisan plan for extending the temporary CTC and EITC expansions to reduce poverty while working to manage the program’s cost and efficacy. (BPC)
  • A new blog post from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) analyzed proposed federal recovery legislation, which includes extending the expanded CTC and EITC, highlighting that the plan would reduce child poverty in Georgia from 14.8% to 8.8%. (GBPI)