Weekly News Round-up: August 24, 2015

Here are some highlights from the past week’s news on family tax credit issues. Remember – you also can track news coverage throughout the week by visiting our website, where you can filter news by a specific credit and/or state.

  • The Senate Appropriations Committee proposed revising the Schedule EIC, a one-page form for filers collecting the EITC. The changes, which are supported by tax preparation giant H&R Block, would expand the form to five pages for individuals doing their own taxes, creating confusion that could discourage working families from collecting their tax credits (CBPP).
  • Lawmakers in Michigan continue to disagree on how to fund transportation. A plan to eliminate the state’s EITC to pay for roads remains on the table (Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal).
  • Presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) claimed that $4.2 billion in tax credits in 2011 went to undocumented immigrants. Analysts pointed out that this figure mostly refers to undocumented parents collecting the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to support their children, most of whom are American citizens.  (Washington Post, Politifact).
  • Senator and presidential candidate Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced his economic platform, which included his plan to replace the EITC with a “wage enhancement program,” and increase the CTC primarily for higher-income families. (Tampa Bay Times, Fiscal Times, Bloomberg).
  • Illinois congressional candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi encouraged Congress to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) (Daily Herald).
  • The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program celebrated 45 years of helping low- and middle-income families file their taxes free of charge and collect tax credits like the EITC and CTC (CFED).