December 2006
The State EITC Online Resource Center is pleased to present its electronic newsletter on current policy developments around state and federal Earned Income Tax Credits. For more information, please go to: www.stateeitc.com.
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In this edition of the policy update:
• Illinois Coalition
Hopes to See EITC Increase Passed During 2007
• North Carolina Groups Shift Focus to State
EITC
• Connecticut Coalition Launches State EITC Campaign
• CBPP Paper Looks at State Minimum Wages and State
EITCs
• 2007 Outreach Toolkits Now Available
• New Study Evaluates Impact of IRS Precertification
Test in Hartford
• CBPP Paper Summarizes New State EITCs
• Brookings Presentation Reviews
Interactive Tax Data Website
• Workshop Examines Fixing State Tax Regressivity
Illinois
Coalition Hopes to See EITC Increase Passed During 2007
The Make Work Pay coalition recently met to begin planning
for the spring 2007 legislative session. The coalition hopes to see the
state’s EITC increase from 5 percent to 20 percent over the course
of several years. These plans follow the recent legislative approval of
an increase in the Illinois minimum wage. The Make Work Pay coalition
includes Voices for Illinois Children, the Center for Economic Progress,
the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, the Center for Tax
and Budget Accountability and many other local, regional and statewide
partners interested in helping low-income, working families through improvement
of the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit.
North Carolina Groups Shift Focus
to State EITC
The North Carolinians for Fair Wages coalition and the Community
Re-Investment Association of North Carolina are joining forces to urge
legislators to adopt a state EITC for the 2007 session. After successfully
advocating for an increase in the minimum wage, the coalition -- which
includes the NC Justice Center, AARP, Southerners for Economic Justice,
ACORN, EITC Carolinas, Good Works, NC Fair Share, and the Common Sense
Foundation -- hopes that the EITC will be included in major tax reforms
planned for the upcoming legislative session.
Read
The Fayetteville Observer article
Read
The News & Observer editorial
Read
The Fayetteville Observer editorial
Connecticut Coalition Launches
State EITC Campaign
A comprehensive coalition of more than 20 organizations including
the Connecticut Association for Human Services, Connecticut Voices for
Children, and the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and
Justice are in full gear in their campaign to advocate for passage of
a state EITC during the 2007 legislative session. During a Call to
Action Forum in October, the coalition circulated a petition
calling for the passage of a state EITC. Their goal is to collect 25,000
signatures. The petition will be delivered to the Governor and legislative
leadership in early 2007.
CBPP Paper Looks at State Minimum
Wages and State EITCs
Jason Levitis and Nicholas Johnson from the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities examine the interaction between state minimum wages
and state Earned Income Tax Credits. The paper, Together, State Minimum
Wages and State Earned Income Tax Credits Make Work Pay, argues that
state minimum wages and EITCs are important policies for fighting poverty
and making work pay, and together they are even more effective. The interaction
between the two policies enables them to reach different populations,
and the combination provides added help to the working families who need
it most.
2007
Outreach Toolkits Now Available
Two new EITC toolkits are now available:
- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released its 2007 outreach kit to help organizations make sure workers know about the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit and how to claim them. The kit provides materials on both the CTC and the EITC including posters in both English and Spanish, a fact sheet booklet, a booklet featuring strategies for promoting these credits and a booklet on ways to link workers to free tax help and asset development. To request a free copy of the Tax Credit Outreach Kit (note: there is a small charge for bulk requests), email your name, organization name, address and phone number to: eickit@cbpp.org, or contact Shaunya Owens at (202) 408-1080. To view the kit online, visit www.cbpp.org/eic2007
- Corporate Voices for Working Families has released the EMPLOYER
TOOLKIT: Educate Your Employees About Benefits They've Earned.
The toolkit provides information on multiple federal programs including
the EITC, CTC, State Children’s Health Insurance (SCHIP), food
stamps, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
To view the kit online, visit http://cvworkingfamilies.org/Employerguide/employerguide.shtml
New Study Evaluates Impact of IRS Precertification Test in Hartford
The Annie E. Casey Foundation funded a study of the impact of the EITC precertification pilot test in Hartford, Conn. During the 2004 tax season, 25,000 EITC recipients in Hartford were required to certify that their children lived with them for the majority of the year. The report shows that the certification requirements created significant burdens for taxpayers, free tax sites, and other groups in Hartford.
CBPP Paper Summarizes New State
EITCs
A new report by CBPP researchers Ifie Okwuie and Nicholas Johnson summarizes
the progress of state EITCs. The paper documents that an increasing number
of working families are able to escape poverty through the growing number
of state EITCs.
Brookings Presentation Reviews
Interactive Tax Data Website
Alab Berube of the Metropolitan Policy Project at the Brookings
Institution delivered a presentation to the National Community Tax Coalition
annual conference on the Brookings Institution’s interactive tax
data website. He discussed how local coalitions can use the data to measure,
target, and expand the services they provide to lower-income taxpayers.
View
the presentation
Visit the
interactive tax data website
Workshop Examines Fixing State
Tax Regressivity
A workshop at the CBPP Fourteenth Annual State Fiscal Policy
Conference focused on measuring and fixing state tax regressivity. Matt
Gardner from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) reviewed
the new Who Pays? data, Jason Levitis from CBPP presented various
policies to reduce taxes on low-income families, and Ed Hatcher from The
Hatcher Group offered communications and political strategies for passing
low-income tax relief.
View ITEP presentation
View
The Hatcher Group presentation
| Newsletter Editors | |
| Ed Hatcher |
Phone: 301-656-0348 Fax: 301-656-0633 Email: amy@thehatchergroup.com Web: http://www.thehatchergroup.com/ |