PathWays PA Policy Blog

For Immediate Release One in Five Workers is Leaving Money on the Table! PathWays PA can help workers get their taxes done for free at VITA sites throughout the region – and will be announcing a special VITA site later in the week! EITC Awareness Week Events: 1/26 – PathWays PA releases list of local VITA sites online 1/27 – PathWays PA promotes DelcoAD VITA sites online 1/28 – PathWays PA makes special announcement about VITA Supersite 1/29 – PathWays PA holds EITC Awareness Twitter Storm from 10 – 11 AM (sample tweets/images available here ) www.pathwayspa.org / pathwaysvita.com / @PathWaysPA / @PathWaysPolicy #EITC Workers can get a larger tax refund this year because of the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) – but one in five eligible workers don’t know about it! During EITC Awareness Week, PathWays PA will share information daily to help spread the word about the EITC and how we can help workers access the money they’ve earned. In 2015, 27.5 million workers recei...

Congress is making decisions about tax reform and they have an opportunity to make working families a priority. Ask Congress not to shift more of the tax burden to parents and away from the very wealthy . They can do this by strengthening the EITC and CTC. Both tax credit programs significantly reduce the number of children living in poverty, and help working parents make ends meet and save for the future. There were significant improvements made to both of these tax credits in 2009 as part of the economic recovery package. Combined, these improved credits are currently helping 13 million households and over 26 million children. These tax credits are also stimulating our economy. Congressional focus on tax reform right now offers a key opportunity to make sure these improvements are extended permanently and no harmful cuts are made.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities  has examined how the EITC and CTC programs are utilized by veterans. With Congress considering overhauling the tax code this year, it’s worth noting that about one in four current or former armed forces families with children receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the low-income piece of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) — two key tax credits for low- and moderate-income working families. The Census and IRS numbers that our friends at CBPP examined show significant use of the tax credits by veterans. Nationally, 1.5 million military families receive one of the credits, according to our analysis of Census Bureau and Internal Revenue Service data. In about 280,000 of these families, a parent now serves in the armed forces; in the rest, a parent is a veteran. Pennsylvania alone has 48,000 veterans and armed forces families with children that receive the EITC or low-income component of the Child Tax Credit annually. ...

More than 100,000 children in PA are lifted out of poverty each year by the federal Earned Income Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits (EITC and CTC). The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) help working families make ends meet by both rewarding work and recognizing the additional expenses of raising children. These tax credits have a strong history of bipartisan support and have been praised and expanded by Republican and Democratic administrations alike. The EITC and CTC have an incredibly beneficial impact for children, families and the economy. Protect these essential tax credits and ask that 2009 enhancements to the credits be made permanent by adding your name to our sign-on letter. Read the letter and add your name.  For more information about the 2009 enhancements and the economic impact of these credits in Pennsylvania, check out PCCY's fact sheets.

As Congress debates a plan to reduce the deficit, one thing is clear - deficit reduction should not fall on the backs of low-income working families. Yet that is exactly what happened in a budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 21. The House plan makes a number of changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) that could end up costing working families billions. The EITC and CTC help working families make ends meet by both rewarding work and recognizing the additional expenses of raising children. Together, the credits bring $3.6 billion into Pennsylvania's economy each year. Nearly 900,000 families benefit from the EITC and 1.5 million from the CTC. Sign onto the letter supporting EITC. Follow "EITC Helps me" on Facebook