2012 House Bill 5407

Increase EITC

Introduced in the House

Feb. 16, 2012

Introduced by Rep. Phil Cavanagh (D-17)

To increase the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which under current statute is 10 percent of the federal EITC. The bill would double this amount. The EITC is a “refundable” tax credit (or “reverse income tax”) for low income workers, in which the government sends the “taxpayer” a check for the amount the credit exceeds any income tax liability. Past estimates suggest an the increase would cause around $300 million to be redistributed to low income working families each year, vs. around half that under current law.

Referred to the Committee on Tax Policy