Policymakers should accompany any provision to aid restaurant and retail owners with provisions to help millions of people who work hard for low pay in restaurants, retail stores, and elsewhere by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the low-income part of the Child Tax Credit.
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POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
A Back-to-School Focus on Helping Kids Thrive
September 5, 2019
The start of a new school year is an appropriate time to highlight important legislation before Congress that would help give all children a chance to reach their potential.
The first few years of life are critical to brain development; growing up in...
Working Families Tax Relief Act Would Boost Incomes Across America
August 27, 2019
As we honor workers by celebrating Labor Day, we should remember that millions who do important jobs — such as serving store customers, making restaurant meals, delivering packages, and caring for the elderly in nursing homes —...
Senate Should Pave Way for Rebuilding IRS Enforcement
August 1, 2019
As the Senate begins allocating available resources among its appropriations subcommittees following enactment of the new bipartisan budget agreement, IRS enforcement warrants special attention given the major cut it’s faced over the past decade. The Senate allocation...
Legislation Would Boost EITC, Child Tax Credit for Millions of People With Disabilities
July 26, 2019
On the 29th anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, it’s worth noting that major pending tax legislation would improve the economic circumstances of millions of people with disabilities. Some 4 million working people with disabilities and more than 2 million children with functional limitations would benefit from the Working Families Tax Relief Act’s...
Legislation Would Deliver Childless Adults in Every State a Larger EITC
July 23, 2019
The bill would reduce the number of workers whom the federal tax code taxes into, or deeper into, poverty—from 5.51 million today to less than 100,000.
3 Million Veteran or Active-Duty Households Would Benefit From Working Families Tax Relief Act
June 27, 2019
Independence Day reminds us of the freedoms we enjoy, and of those who have served or are serving our nation in uniform to preserve those freedoms. Unfortunately, many veterans struggle to move ahead, or even to stay afloat, because their jobs don’t pay enough to ensure that they can afford the basics for themselves and their families. An important proposal to support low-wage workers is the...
House Bill a Step Forward on IRS Enforcement, But More Needed
June 10, 2019
A bill before the House Appropriations Committee would raise funding for IRS tax enforcement and operations support in 2020 — an important, but too modest, step forward after the damaging cuts in IRS enforcement since 2010. Given the depleted state and critical importance of IRS enforcement, lawmakers need to add more.
The U.S. tax system is based on voluntary compliance, which requires...
Reps. Kildee, Evans Introduce House Version of Working Families Tax Relief Act
June 6, 2019
Update, July 2: we’ve added a table at the end of this post showing the number of households, individuals, and children in each state whom the Kildee-Evans bill would benefit.
House Ways and Means Committee members Dan Kildee and Dwight Evans introduced a bill today to substantially expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), which would boost the...
Audits of Highest-Income Taxpayers Fall Again
May 21, 2019
The IRS reported yesterday that it audited fewer millionaires and large corporations in fiscal year 2018 than the previous year, continuing a multi-year decline. Since 2010, the President and Congress have cut IRS funding substantially, causing workforce reductions and shortages of top auditors who have the expertise to review...
