Tax Justice Digest stories about Low-Income Tax Credits
The St. Louis Post Dispatch published an editorial based on the study which found what many anecdotally already knew. "In America, you can start poor, work hard and end up rich. But winding up rich is easier if you're born to wealthy parents." The Post Dispatch calls for policies that level the playing field for those Americans who aren't lucky enough to be born with a silver (or even copper) spoon in their mouths: "If America truly wants to truly improve the odds of achieving the American Dream, it would work to counter the effects of poverty on children. A larger earned-income tax credit for low-income parents would help. We also should improve school systems and make public colleges and universities more affordable by expanding scholarships and holding down tuition."
Opportunity for Organizations to Support Progressive Changes in the Tax Code
Several advocacy groups have begun circulating a national sign-on letter for organizations who support improving the tax code for low-income people. The final deadline to sign on is Friday, May 18, but any organizations signed on earlier can be included in a partial list that will be presented to some members of Congress during lobbying activities by advocates. Click here to sign your organization onto the letter.
For anyone who does not represent an organization but wants to get involved, you can send a quick email that will go to your Representative and Senators in support of tax changes that will help low-income people. Click here to send an email.
Advocacy Community Focuses on Tax Credits
As the Coalition on Human Needs explained in its appeal to organizations, a working family with an income below $11,750 this year is too poor to get the refundable Child Tax Credit. (For a family of three, that's 43 percent below the poverty line.) That leaves out 10 million poor children who would benefit from improvements in this credit.
Another credit that can be improved is the EITC, especially as it affects poor childless adults, a group of people who are usually eligible for no federal assistance of any sort. Low-income workers between ages 25-64 who are not raising children are eligible for a very small EITC (last year the maximum was $412; the average credit was only $230). Their average annual earnings were $6,050 in 2005 (about 40 percent below the poverty line for a single individual).
