Letter to the MA Poverty Commission on Policies that Support Children and Families

Dear Chair DiDomenico, Chair Decker, and distinguished members of the Commission on Poverty,

Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony to identify and advance policies that reduce poverty and expand opportunity for families with low incomes. On behalf of the Healthy Families Tax Credits Coalition – a statewide network of more than 80 community organizations, institutions, and direct service providers – we urge the Commission to include in its report recommendations to strengthen and increase access to the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child and Family Tax Credit (CFTC). Specifically, we encourage the Commission to support the following expansions that center the needs of families with low incomes and respond to financial realities they face across the Commonwealth:

1. Extend eligibility for the EITC to immigrant and mixed-status families who file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN);
2. Increase the EITC match from 40% to 50% of the federal credit;
3. Remove the dependent cap in the EITC;
4. Increase the CFTC to at least $600 per dependent;
5. Index the CFTC to inflation, thereby protecting its value over time;
6. Extend eligibility for the CFTC to all children under age 18;
7. Create the option for disbursing the CFTC in advance, periodic payments;
8. Improve access to the EITC and CFTC through a robust outreach and communications campaign and sustained funding for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.