Weekly News Round-up: June 27, 2016
Here are some highlights from the past week’s news and upcoming events 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 or state.
- TOP STORY: Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed into law an expansion of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), increasing the credit from 12.5 to 15 percent of the federal credit. (TCWF, The Providence Journal)
- A bill to expand the Louisiana EITC from 3.5 to 5 percent of the federal credit failed to pass in a special session. (The Olympian)
- Many continue to speculate on presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s economic agenda, which shows promising signs of including an expanded Child Care Credit for low-wage workers raising children. (The American Prospect, TCWF)
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s newly-released KIDS COUNT Databook singles out the EITC as one of the most effective policies for keeping children out of poverty in all 50 states. (TCWF)
- The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) released a new paper outlining several different proposals to strengthen Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs to better serve lower-income individuals. (CFED)
- Ron Haskins, co-director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the need to provide adequate funding for programs like the EITC. He noted that such programs renew opportunities for communities and provide innovate solutions to poverty. (Brookings)
- Money Magazine reminded readers that the Child and Dependent Care Credit is available to help low-wage workers cover the cost of daycare or camp over the summer months. (Money)
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a grim new report on poverty in the United States, showing that the middle class is shrinking, economic recovery is beginning to slow and income inequality is worsening. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, pointed to the EITC combined with an increased minimum wage as one of the best remedies for the nation’s growing economic problems. (PBS NewsHour)
- The Century Foundation, Center for American Progress, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will host a Capitol Hill briefing on Friday, July 8 that will explore ways to build on programs such as the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to reduce child poverty. Register here.