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Tell Congress to Increase Tax Refunds for the Working Poor
Tell Congress to improve the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. These credits provide badly needed help to low-income Americans, but they currently do not reach millions of the poorest children and provide far too little to low-income, childless workers. How can you help? Edit the letter below, fill out the form on the right and send a message to your U.S. representative and senators. Tell them to provide help where it is needed most.
Dear [ Decision Maker ] , Please make improvements to our tax laws. I urge you to support extending the Child Tax Credit to working poor families who are now ineligible because their earnings are too low. In addition, please expand help to poor childless workers through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Efforts to fix flaws in our tax system must be a top priority. Help lift up the millions of working poor Americans who have received little benefit either from recent tax cuts or the nation's economic growth. This year, working families with incomes below $11,750 are excluded from the refundable Child Tax Credit. Please extend the credit so it reaches more of those most in need. Currently, 10 million children in working families receive zero help simply because they are too poor. Childless workers with earnings averaging about $6,050 receive a very small EITC -- only $230 on average for 25- to 64-year-old workers. The maximum credit for low-income workers not raising children is $412. Expanding this modest amount will reduce hardship and promote work. Please take quick action to improve these refundable credits and help millions who work hard, but struggle to make ends meet.
Sincerely, |
Campaign Launched: |
| Background Information |
Here's what's new: Congress is drawing up tax legislation and there is a real possibility they will consider improvements to these credits. Many of the tax changes they are considering will prevent tax increases for the quite comfortable by decreasing tax breaks to the downright rich. But some leaders in Congress want to make sure that the poorest people and the middle class are helped by the tax legislation.
What's not new: The poor don't have a lot of power. If we're silent, others with more money and power may shrink or eliminate improvements to these credits. But if hundreds - let's hope thousands - of groups and individual constituents sign or send letters, the needs of the poor will move high on the priority list, where they belong.
Why it matters:
Child Tax Credit: This year, a working family with an income below $11,750 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. Every year, the income minimum rises with inflation (it started at $10,000 in 2001). The letter calls for improving the credit so it reaches more poor families.
Earned Income Tax Credit: 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). The letter calls for increasing the credit for these very low-income workers.
These credits are so important because they are "refundable" - that is, eligible people receive a refund check even if their incomes are too low to owe federal income taxes. The use of refundable credits is one of the most powerful tools for reducing poverty.
