Weekly News Round-up: February 8, 2016

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.

  • Researchers at the American Action Forum reported that House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R) plan to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for childless workers would lift almost 90,000 individuals out of poverty and increase employment by 8.3 million. Speaker Ryan’s plan is almost identical to a proposal by President Obama (American Action Forum, The Wall Street Journal). However, Politico reported that the EITC was not a topic for discussion during last week’s meeting between the President and Ryan, the first since he was elected speaker (Politico).
  • We posted the video of What’s Next for Tax Credits for Low-Wage Workers, a Capitol Hill forum we co-hosted with the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) on January 29. You can view the full video here.
  • In Idaho, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee approved legislation that would cut tax rates for the top income earners, but House Minority Leader Mat Erpelding (D) says he hopes lawmakers will instead consider a bill to create a state EITC (Idaho Reporter).
  • Democrats in the New York state assembly introduced a bill to increase income taxes on those making more than $1 million a year and expand the EITC by 5 percent over the next two years (Albany Times Union).
  • PBS Newshour profiled EITC recipients participating in Paycheck Plus, a pilot program evaluating how individuals would spend a larger refund if Congress votes to expand the EITC for childless workers (PBS Newshour).
  • Thomas Carper (D-Del.) pressed Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen to lay out a plan to reduce improper payments of the EITC (The Hill).
  • Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post reminded workers to choose a tax preparer wisely, urging those with low wages to get their taxes filed correctly and free of charge at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites (The Washington Post).