Earned Income Tax Credit
Congress must raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for Build Back Better
Over the last 18 months of pandemic and economic disruption, we’ve seen the hardships people face when they don’t have what they need to get by when illness or job loss strikes. And we’ve also seen how bold, smart policies can ensure everyday people and their families can put food on their tables and keep a roof over their heads.
Working family tax credits are the tax break we need
The richest 5% of North Carolina households have an average income 28 times greater than the poorest fifth. More than half of the income in our state in 2018 was held by the wealthiest 20% of North Carolinians. In 2019, before the start of the pandemic, almost one in three North Carolinians lived below 200% of […]
Expanding the EITC in North Carolina could save lives
Each year, the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lifts millions of adults and children out of poverty. Given the detrimental impact of poverty on health, there is significant research that demonstrates that the credit has a broad positive impact on many aspects of health. Expansion of the federal EITC, and refundable state-level EITCs have […]
House members introduce bill to raise NC’s minimum wage, improve worker rights and incomes
In case you missed it, State Representatives Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) and Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe) introduced some long overdue legislation yesterday to dramatically improve the treatment of workers in North Carolina. House Bill 46 — the “Economic Security Act of 2019” — would make the following changes to state law: it would increase the state minimum […]
New report: “Morally bankrupt” federal policy keeps student loan recipients in poverty
Yesterday the the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) released an important new report that highlights a disturbing method by which the federal government is preying upon student loan recipients. This is from the NCLC release that accompanied Voices of Despair: Student Borrowers Kept in Poverty When Government Seizes Their Earned Income Tax Credit. The report […]
South Carolina passes EITC, but we can do better
Last week South Carolina lawmakers established a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which makes them the 27th state to do so. The state EITC finally happened when legislators raised the state’s gas tax for the first time in nearly 30 years to raise some much-needed transportation revenue. The drawback of gas taxes is that they’re […]
New policy brief: The tax cut that North Carolina should enact
In case you missed, it there’s a compelling new policy brief out from the NC Budget and Tax Center (“Bring back the state EITC”) that explains a simple and straightforward way that North Carolina can cut taxes and build a better and fairer economy: reinstating the Earned Income Tax Credit. This is from the brief: […]
House budget, including modest teacher raises, advances to the state Senate
As expected, leaders in the N.C. House have overwhelmingly approved a $22.2 billion spending plan for the coming year that includes modest teacher pay raises for some. The House plan passed with some opposition from Democrats in the chamber, but as the N.C. Justice Center’s Tazra Mitchell points out, it comes with many missing progressive […]
New report: Minority working families in NC worse off than average
One of the great myths of the American policy debate is that poor people are poor because they don’t (or won’t) work. While it’s true that unemployment is still a huge problem in many places, it’s also true (and increasingly so) that work is no panacea — especially for people of color. This is especially […]
More tax cuts the wrong medicine for what ails the NC economy
On Wednesday, the Senate Finance committee heard presentations that made the case for more changes to the state’s tax code. While beginning with many of the economic realities in North Carolina—stagnant and falling wages, persistently high poverty, and slow growth— the presentation prescribes the wrong medicine: more cuts to the income tax in favor of […]
Happy EITC Awareness Day… to those fortunate enough to live in states that haven’t eliminated this vital credit
Today marks a little known “holiday”: Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day. The IRS-led national event is intended – as the title implies – to spread awareness about this modest but vital tax credit and make sure that all qualified workers receive it. The day is as much about educating people as to what […]
The Earned Income Tax Credit matters to NC families
If you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve a chance to get ahead. This is why the Earned Income Tax Credit was invented: to help families with low-paying jobs make ends meet. Unfortunately, North Carolina is the first state in 30 years to eliminate its Earned Income Tax Credit. This move abandoned a […]