Families could see reduced EITC and CTC next year unless Congress takes action.
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Take Action to Avoid a Tax Day Shock for Low-Income Families Next Year
The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for working families, particularly those in low-wage, service occupations. In addition to job loss and wage decreases, these families also face the possibility of losing critical income boosts in 2021 through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Because the pandemic’s fallout has reduced the earnings of millions of low-income people, when they file their tax returns, they may face sharply reduced EITC and CTC than they would have received had the pandemic not affected their earned income. Absent legislative action, this would likely compound the pandemic-induced income losses for millions of people, many of whom will likely still face economic hardship as the recession continues next year.
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Reps. Brian Higgins (D-NY-26) and Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure that low-income families can use the wages reported in their 2019 tax return to compute the EITC and the CTC on their 2020 tax return.
Please take a moment to contact your Representative and Senators and ask them to support the “COVID-19 Earned Income Act” introduced by Senators Brown and Cassidy (S. 3542) and Representatives Higgins and Kelly (H.R. 6762).
The EITC and CTC provide critical income boosts to millions of Americans each year. We will keep you updated on the status of this bill, and let you know additional actions you can take to protect refundable tax credits. Thank you for making your voice heard on this important issue and for everything that you do on behalf of low- and moderate-income Americans across the country.
For additional questions about our tax policy priorities, please email Joanna Ain at [email protected].
