Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

The Earned Income Tax Credit in Massachusetts

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The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) improves the economic security of working families by increasing the after tax incomes of low and moderate wage workers. MassBudget just released a short factsheet, Massachusetts’s Earned Income Tax Credit, which explains how the tax credit works, describes how many families and individuals it helps in Massachusetts, and examines the long-term effects of the EITC on families and children.

Recent research has linked EITC increases to a number of positive outcomes:

  • Improved college attendance and graduation rates and better test scores, particularly in math.
  • More work and higher earnings as adults for children raised in these low income families.
  • Reductions in the early onset of disabilities and illnesses that often afflict poor children.

Over 400,000 working people in Massachusetts benefit from the state EITC. Most of them are supporting families. Increasing the state EITC helps those working people make ends meet and pay for basic necessities. The increased income can also make it more likely that their children will be able to reach their full potential. When low income working people have more purchasing power, and their children can grow up to contribute their full potential to our economy, that is good for all of us.

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Comments

  1. the EITC by closing down a corporate tax credit….so progressive thinking Democrats could support it.

    • Too bad the Democratic Speaker of the House joined that Republican in proposing to fund it on the backs of the people it will benefit — by destroying the public transportation system they rely on to get to their jobs.

  2. We expect a large turnout from the film industry on this one. Please, if you can’t make it at least communicate with your own Rep and Senator.

    It is unlikely the joint committee will vote today on reporting any of the bills heard “ought to pass” “out not to pass” or “refer to study”, but they might.

    Here is the link to committee agenda and the bills

    Here is the agenda

    Agenda
    Click to close Public hearing10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
    Item Bill Number Bill Title Sponsor
    1 H62 An Act to support working families Charles D. Baker

    Item Bill Number Bill Title Sponsor
    1 H2479 An Act improving the earned income credit for working families Marjorie C. Decker

    1 H2563 An Act Relative to the Earned Income Tax Credit Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

    Item Bill Number Bill Title Sponsor
    1 H2469 An Act to remove the film tax credit expiration date Tackey Chan

    Item Bill Number Bill Title Sponsor
    1 H2559 An Act relative to corporate tax amnesty
    Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

    Here is the link to the Committee Members

    Senate Members

    Michael J. Rodrigues
    Senate Chair
    Michael J. Rodrigues
    James E. Timilty
    Senate Vice Chair
    Members
    Benjamin B. Downing Eric P. Lesser Daniel A. Wolf Ryan C. Fattman

    House Members

    Jay R. Kaufman
    House Chair
    Jay R. Kaufman
    Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.
    House Vice Chair
    Members
    Walter F. TimiltyThomas M. StanleyDenise Provost,James Arciero
    James J. Dwyer Alan Silvia, Randy Hunt Shawn Dooley

  3. from State House News Service

    INDUSTRY: BAKER BILL WOULD “DESTROY” GROWING FILM SECTOR
    Industry officials are gearing up to defend a tax incentive program that they say makes Massachusetts fertile territory for film and TV work and the jobs that go with that. Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed phasing out the state’s film industry tax incentives to help pay for a proposed doubling of the earned income tax credit available to low-income families. Baker aides say the tax break primarily benefits out-of-state interests. The Massachusetts Production Coalition, which represents the industry, wrote in an email Monday that Baker’s bill “would end thousands of jobs, have a devastating effect on local businesses across the state, and destroy a growing industry.” The coalition reports that it is in the midst of “one our busiest and most successful seasons to date,” with six major film and television productions “currently on the ground in Massachusetts, employing thousands of MA residents, supporting local businesses and helping non-profit organizations to grow.” The governor’s bill (H 62) is one of a handful up for a public hearing Tuesday morning before the Legislature’s Revenue Committee. – Michael Norton/SHNS

    DOR SAYS EITC EXPANSION WILL BOOST DISPOSABLE INCOME BY $198 MIL
    The Baker administration will be armed with some new statistics when it makes the case to lawmakers Tuesday to double the earned income tax credit. Officials had the Department of Revenue scrub the impact of the proposal and say initial findings indicate the result will be a $125 million increase in gross state product, an increase in disposable income of about $196 million, and the addition of 1,000 to 2,000 jobs per year in the “near future.” Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash plans to testify before the Revenue Committee Tuesday on Baker’s proposal and will likely press the “multiplier effect” case that the increase in disposable income will mean more consumer spending and in turn more demand for business goods and services, and jobs. Lawmakers have resisted increasing the earned income tax credit in recent years but the idea has more momentum this year given support for it from Baker and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg. – Michael Norton/SHNS

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