Last week, following the House’s passage of the legislation in April, the Senate passed the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, which includes language to permanently authorize the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program and to allow up to $30 million in funding. After 50 years in practice, VITA will be codified, offering providers and the…
Tell us about The Piton’s Foundation strategy and how Get Ahead Colorado and Tax Help Colorado fit into your work of supporting families and driving social change for low-income communities. For more than 40 years, The Piton Foundation, which is part of Gary Community Investments, has been investing in the Colorado community with a specific…
Racial Equity, Economic Security, and Taxes: Fitting the Puzzle Pieces Together Tuesday, June 11th, 2019 Seattle, Washington How can philanthropy—funders focused on equity and those focused on economic mobility—work together to promote more inclusive and equitable tax policies that help build prosperity for all? The EITC Funders Network, Philanthropy Northwest, and Puget Sound Asset…
Interview with a Funder In what ways are the Northwest Area Foundation’s program goals around achieving sustainable prosperity grounded in a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion? At the program level, we’ve had a version of this conversation for many years. In recent years, however, we’ve embarked on an intentional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)…
The 2019 Prosperity Now Scorecard, a resource for data on household financial health on the state and federal levels, finds that an alarming percentage of Americans – especially households of color – are currently living in financial uncertainty. For the first time, the 2019 Scorecard also ranks states on racial disparities. The report recommends enacting…
A December article from ProPublica takes a closer look at IRS audit rates by income. While higher-income taxpayers are still more likely to be audited, under pressure from Congress, the IRS has kept the audit rate of EITC recipients relatively high due to concerns about overpayment. The consistent budget cuts at the IRS, reports ProPublica,…
A Center for American Progress Report takes a closer look at the large wealth disparity between Latinx and white households. Despite similar employment rates, the median wealth of Latinx workers is only 14.6 percent of the median wealth of white households. The report attributes the gap to a number of factors including Latinx communities’ relationship…
2018 was a big year for tax credit advocacy on the state level: bills to enact or expand state EITCs moved forward in multiple states and five states successfully expanded their state EITCs and two states enacted new Child Tax Credits (CTC). On the federal level, 2017 tax reform’s effects, including changes to the CTC,…
Each year, the IRS and national partners join in a coordinated outreach effort to increase tax credit eligibility awareness. The 13th annual EITC Awareness Day is on Friday, January 25th, 2019. The IRS estimates that 1 in 5 eligible taxpayers does not claim the EITC. EITC Awareness Day helps shine a spotlight on refundable credits to increase…
Thursday, December 6th Click here to access the recording! How do grantmakers work collaboratively to fight poverty and economic instability in the South? By creating a shared strategy, selecting a targeted intervention, and allowing grantees time to build capacity to build toward long-term success. Launched in 2016, a unique pooled fund – the Earned…