WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today introduced a bipartisan resolution to recognize tomorrow, January 29, 2021 as Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day and highlight the financial benefits of this tax credit that promotes work and has helped lift millions of working families with children out of poverty.
“The Earned Income Tax Credit is vital for low-income families. For 2020, families can claim the credit using 2019 earnings, so the credit amount will not be lowered due to lost wages suffered during the pandemic. This resolution raises awareness for this resource so that more families can keep more of the money they earned. This is targeted policy that benefits those most affected by COVID-19,” said Dr. Cassidy.
“For many years, the Earned Income Tax Credit has provided our workers and families a financial boost that rewards their hard work and helps grow our economy,” said Senator Baldwin. “As we continue addressing the economic fallout caused by this pandemic, we know we need to do more to lift people up and out of poverty quickly. By introducing this bipartisan resolution, I’m working to raise awareness of this tax credit so that all eligible Wisconsin workers and families can keep more of what they’ve earned.”
The EITC is a refundable tax credit that rewards work. Research shows the vital credit helps keep children healthy, helps students do better in school and boosts earnings in future generations. In 2018, the EITC lifted about 5.6 million people out of poverty, including approximately three million children. Yet, millions of workers are unaware of the credit and their eligibility. An estimated one out of five eligible workers do not claim the EITC.
The resolution is also cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
The full resolution is available here.
An online version of this release is available here.
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